Parliament has initiated moves to invite the Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, to explain to the House why the voters registration exercise was postponed indefinitely. The House will also demand from Dr Afari-Gyan the extent of preparation of the commission towards the conduct of the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections. According to the Deputy Majority leader, Mr Osei KyeiMensah-Bonsu, the leadership of the House had made the necessary moves to formally invite the EC chairman to assure Members of Parliament (MP) that the postponement of the voters registration exercise would not affect the commission’s electoral calendar for this year. He was responding to a comment made on the floor of the House on Thursday by the Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben North, Mr Hackman Owusu Agyeman, who wanted to know the steps that the leadership of the House had taken to bring before it officials of the EC to explain to MPs why the exercise was postponed indefinitely and the preparations it had made so far towards the December polls. Mr Owusu Agyeman said the postponement had caused so much anxiety, especially among MPs, since the EC did not fix any new date for the conduct of the exercise. He said care must be taken by the EC not to overcrowd the rest of the year with its activities, since that could create a lot of inconveniences for the MPs who had to combine parliamentary activities with party work in their respective constituencies. Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said it was likely that the calendar of the House for the rest of the year might be disrupted, due to the indefinite postponement of the exercise by the EC. The deputy majority leader said due to the urgency which the leadership attached to the issue, it was making frantic efforts so that the intercourse between the House and the EC chairman would take place, preferably before the end of next week. Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu further explained that the House needed to be thoroughly briefed by the EC on its arrangements in terms of logistics, manpower training and recruitment of Returning Officers to ensure the holding of a free, fair and transparent election, whose results would be acceptable by all political parties in the country. Corroborating the statement of Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the Deputy Minority leader, Mr Edward Doe Adjahoe, said the leadership of the House was deeply concerned by the recent postponement of the Voters Registration Exercise by the EC. Mr Adjahoe said the public read all sorts of meanings into such decisions by the EC, and that explained why the House had initiated moves to invite the EC chairman to clear any lingering doubts surrounding the postponement of the exercise and the measures it had taken to ensure credible elections in December, this year. Source: Daily Graphic