The Electoral Commission (EC) has taken delivery of 2,500 digital cameras and batteries in readiness for the re-opening of the voters' register for the December polls. The first consignment of 1,000 printers to be used in printing photographs for the resister have also arrived, leaving a batch of 1,500 which would be delivered tomorrow. The Director of Finance at the EC, Mr Isaac Kwame Boateng, disclosed this in an interview in Accra. When the Daily Graphic arrived at his office before noon last Friday, Mr Boateng was dispatching some officials of the EC to clear the 1,000 printers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). All the equipment were manufactured by a Taiwanese company based in China. Mr Boateng also showed to this reporter one of the digital cameras which, he said, was among the 2,500 which were delivered about two weeks ago. He explained that but for some flight problems the printers would have been delivered earlier. Mr Boateng said each camera had to be accompanied by a battery and a printer for it to be considered as a complete workstation, and stated that the 2,500 cameras would, therefore, be accompanied by 2,500 batteries and an equal number of printers. He said when all the equipment finally arrived, the EC would recruit 2,500 field operators to man the workstations, and added that the training of the operators would take three days. He assured voters of good pictures for both the register and their identity cards. Earlier, the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Finance and Administration, Mr Kwadwo Sarfo-Kantanka, told the Daily Graphic that the register would be opened this month but declined to mention the exact date. He said a date had been fixed for the exercise but that could only be announced by the Chairman of the EC, Mr Kwadwo Afari-Djan, who had travelled outside the country. "As the EC Chairman told Parliament a few weeks ago, the register will be opened in July," he said. Another highly placed source told the Daily Graphic that although the month of July had been agreed on, the exact date would be fixed by the Commission at its meeting in the course of this week. Under the voter registration exercise, people who have attained the age of 18 since the last voter registration exercise and others who could not register at that time due to one reason or the other would have the opportunity to do so. The exercise is usually held for 10 days. Source: Daily Graphic