President John Evans Atta Mills has given an assurance that he would support any decision taken by the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) regarding the provision of resources for the Electoral Commission (EC) to embark on the biometric voters’ registration and other related matters. He said on electoral matters, it had been the tradition of the EC to take decisions with representatives of the political parties which constituted the IPAC, adding that when such decisions were forwarded to the government, it would take the appropriate action. Answering questions from a section of journalists Monday at the Castle, Osu, the President said it would be unfair for the government to arrogate to itself the right to impose decisions that would normally have been considered by the EC with the IPAC. “When it comes to electoral matters, the tradition is that we leave the decision to IPAC. Whatever decision IPAC takes, my government will support it,” he said. Verification of the intended biometric register has become a contentious issue among political parties and identifiable groups. While the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference are pushing for verification, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the verification process can put unnecessary pressure on the financial resources of the country. The NDC also thinks that honesty and integrity on the part of stakeholders is what is required. However, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, put to rest concerns raised by some political parties and identifiable groups about the need for verification of the biometric register by saying that the commission had made provision for verification gadgets in its budget to the government for the 2012 elections. However, he cautioned that verification per se was not the panacea to electoral fraud, double voting and stealing of ballot boxes because what was required of all, especially political parties, were vigilance, honesty and decent electoral behaviour. President Mills affirmed his commitment to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections. He said the peace being enjoyed currently would not be compromised for the parochial interest of any individual or group of persons. He used the opportunity to urge all Ghanaians, particulary the youth, not to indulge in acts that had the tendency to mar the country’s enviable record of being the bastion of democracy and a trail-blazer on the African continent.