The Electoral Commission (EC) has condemned the vandalisation of its Biometric Voter Registration equipment at a registration centre in the Asokwa Sub-metro of the Ashanti Region.

“Such acts of lawlessness perpetrated by individuals whose sole motive is to disrupt the ongoing registration exercise cannot be countenanced, the EC said in a statement, signed by Mr Amadu Sulley,  the Deputy Chairman, in Charge of Operations, and copied to Ghana News Agency, in Accra.

The EC has therefore called on the Police to intensify security for electoral officials and equipment.

“On Friday, April 29, 2016, the second day of the ongoing Limited Voter Registration Exercise, a group of thugs stormed into the Gyenyase Registration centre and smashed the registration kit into pieces,” it said.

“The tugs also destroyed registration materials and took away used challenged forms and Form1C containing details of those whose registrations have been challenged and the hand-held scanner.”

The Ashanti Region Police, it said, had arrested one person, suspected of having called in the thugs, to assist with investigations.

The EC reminded the public to use laid down procedures for addressing any grievances or disputes that may arise at a registration centre and asked aggrieved individuals  to follow the due process.

The EC assured the potential electorates in the affected area that efforts were ongoing to retrieve their registration data.

It advised potential electorates in the affected areas not to be deterred by the act but go on with the registration process as the registration process would continue at the centre as scheduled.

“We urge our registration officers to remain resolute and not be intimidated by such acts while the security agencies take measures to protect them and the registration materials,” the statement stated.