The Ashanti Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has commended the Electoral Commission (EC) for its decision to extend the re-registration exercise of NHIS registrants as well as ensuring a continuous registration of voters in the country.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region on July 26 called on the EC to extend the period of re-registration of persons whose names have been deleted from the voters’ register. The Supreme Court ordered the deletion of such names from the electoral roll because they used the NHIS card as a national identity to obtain the right to vote.

The EC had revealed that less than half of the 56,000, whose names were deleted from the voters’ register, re-registered when the exercise ended last week.

At the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting Wednesday, the Electoral Commission offered a second opportunity to persons who could not take advantage of the first exercise to do so ahead of the December polls.

The EC stated, “we are giving the deleted NHIS registrants a second opportunity from 5th to 12th August 2016 to re-register. So if you were unable to do earlier you have a second opportunity to get yourself back onto the voters’ register”

Speaking on the issue on Onua FM’s Yen Sempa Thursday, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NPP, Sam Pyne said “we are happy the EC has extended the re-registration”.

He however said there are several challenges that need to be addressed.

He said some of the EC offices have no electricity supply to power the registration and verification machines and the machines are also slow in some centers.

The NPP scribe suggested that the exercise should have been “electoral area based” so that it would be closer to the people.

But the Head of Communications at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu explained that EC offices that have challenges with electricity supply have standby generators and those who do not have electricity have generators to power the machines.

By Kweku Antwi-Otoo/Onua 95.1FM/3news.com