The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) is supporting calls for a verification mechanism in the biometric registration for the 2012 General Election. This was contained in a communiqué issued by the conference at the end of its five-day Annual Plenary Assembly in Takoradi, and read by the President of the GCBC, Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu. “We urge the government and the Electoral Commission (EC) to procure all the equipment necessary to authenticate the identity of voters in 2012 elections.” The communique follows political disagreement between the two leading political parties in the country over the biometric registration and the need for verification. The opposition New Patriotic Party is unflinching in its call for the EC to incorporate a system of verification in its ongoing biometric registration process. But the ruling party is hesitant, stating the biometric registration process can be successful with necessarily having a system of verification. The ruling party is also wary of the cost implications in executing the verification process. But the Catholic Bishops believe a system of verification is paramount in ensuring a peaceful, free and fair election. They also urged the EC to undertake comprehensive education exercise to enlighten voters of the new system. “We urge the EC to come out clearly to inform Ghanaians what the biometric register is about, how it functions, so we the people of Ghana are able to give our input to enrich the process," he stated. “The environment before elections is critical and must be conducive for free and fair elections. People should be afforded ample time to register and verify their registration as voters at a reasonable pace”, it stressed. “Let us all throw our weight behind the institutions that are making strenuous efforts at making this a reality”, the communique noted.