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THE CHAIRMAN of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has said there will be biometric voter verification in next year�s general elections. Dr. Afari-Gyan had reportedly rejected calls from various bodies including religious organisations for the EC to ensure there was voter verification at the December 7, 2012 general elections, stating nobody could dictate to the commission how it should carry out its constitutional mandate. However, speaking at a day�s conference organised by the West African Parliamentary Press Corps in Accra yesterday, the EC chairman indicated there would be biometric registration as well as verification as the budget for both processes had been presented to government. �Anything that improves the system of verifying people�s identity is good. So if there is another way of improving the system, we have to do it,� Dr. Afari-Gyan remarked. But he was quick to add that verification would only be done if government provided the needed funding for it, noting that �budgeting for it does not mean money would be released�. �I have been at the Electoral Commission long enough to know that sometimes even when Parliament has approved money for the commission, not all the money is released,� Dr. Afari-Gyan stated. �Verification will be done but nobody should see it as a panacea to our electoral problems. If people do not collude to cheat, if dead people would not be resurrected to come and vote, there would be no need for verification,� Dr. Afari-Gyan noted. The EC Chairman�s clearest declaration yet on the verification saga, political analysts say, has now shifted the burden on government to provide the needed funds for the conduct of the biometric registration and voter authentication processes. It is yet to be seen how government would react to Dr. Afari-Gyan�s latest pronouncement as the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu-Nketia had stated publicly it was not in support of the voter verification. The ruling party�s apparent dogmatic stance on the matter goes against numerous calls and mounting pressure by stakeholders in Ghana�s electoral system for the EC to conduct the verification process to ensure transparent elections in the country. The Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the Catholic Bishops� Conference, Civil Society Groups, the Presbyterian Church and political parties including the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the People�s National Convention (PNC) had called on the EC to ensure voter verification on the day of elections. The Accra Conference of the West African Parliamentary Press Corps, which brought together members from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Benin, among others, was on the theme: �The Role of the Media in Ensuring Peace and Good Governance in West Africa.� Opening the conference, Vice President John Mahama called on all stakeholders to commit themselves to violent-free and transparent elections in the country. The vice president, whose speech was read on his behalf by the Minister for Communications, Haruna Iddrisu, reiterated government�s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections next year. �We in government will do our best to protect the peace we are enjoying in this country and we urge our colleagues in other West African countries also to strive to the same extent, so that we could have a trouble-free West Africa where we can pay attention to trade and other aspects of development,� Vice President Mahama urged. He pledged government�s support for activities of the West African Parliamentary Press Corps in their resolve to help promote peace and development in the sub-region.