The Electoral Commission has revealed that people who were not able to register in the ongoing biometric registration exercise due to broken down equipment will be given a lifeline to register after the closure of the exercise. The EC’s Acting Director of Public Affairs, Christian Owusu Parry disclosed this in an interview with Joy FM on Thursday. “As it is now, we are monitoring the situation across the country and we are receiving reports. At the end of the 40 days, if it becomes obvious that there are still people who could still not register because of challenges that they faced with the equipment, then the Commission would have to consider an extension to the exercise,” Mr Owusu Parry said. The EC however said calls for an outright extension of the ongoing exercise are premature and that this decision would have to be taken after a careful analysis of the 40-day exercise. A group called the Coalition for Development of Ghanaians had earlier said not extending the deadline of the biometric registration exercise would be a disservice to Ghanaians who were not able to register due to broken down equipment. The Executive Director of the Group, Agyei Kwame Williams said that many registration centers could not function fully due to broken down equipment. The exercise which commenced on March 24, is scheduled to end on May 5. Eight million persons have registered as at the end of the second phase of the exercise as against a projected 6.5 million by the EC.