The leadership of the opposition NDC will go into a crisis meeting in the coming days to make a decision on whether to participate or boycott the voter registration exercise to be conducted by the Electoral Commission.

Clement Apaak, Builsa South NDC MP, told Roland Walker on the AM Show Thursday that it will enable the leadership of the party to give its final verdict on the registration exercise.

His comment follows an announcement by the Electoral Commission on Wednesday that the new voter registration exercise will commence in the last week of June.

Before this commencement, a pilot programme will be undertaken in the coming days as a precursor to the main registration.

The new register will make way for the organisation of the 2020 general elections, as the EC had always insisted that its biometric equipment have become obsolete and not fit for purpose.

Alternatively, they also said an upgrade would be more expensive.

The EC had quoted $56 million as the cost for the procurement of a new biometric system, which it said was lower than what it would cost to upgrade the existing one.

The development has resulted in countless debates and opposition, with the NDC leading a coalition called the Inter-Party Resistance against the New Voters Register.

Their stance has subsequently been backed by 18 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who maintained that a new register is not value for money.

Vice President for IMANI Africa, Bright Simmons had contended that had the EC done a request for quotation, it would have found that the $56 million it quoted as reasonable was actually very high.

But the ruling NPP supports the stance by the EC. The party together with 12 others, has maintained its assertion since 2012 that the voters register was bloated, hence the need for a new one.

A legal tussle in 2016, saw the Supreme Court directed the EC to purge the voters’ roll of persons who registered using National Health Insurance cards, as it was not proof of citizenship.

But with the majority of the political parties in favour, the EC has resolved to conduct the exercise despite the scourge of the coronavirus.

At an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) on Wednesday, the EC met 17 political parties to outline its plans.

After procuring all the necessary equipment, including over 8,500 Biometric Voters Register Kits (BVRs), the EC says it is set to register close to 17 million prospective voters within the period.