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THERE ARE indications that the much-anticipated biometric voter registration for next year�s general election might not take place. The situation has therefore raised anxiety among political stakeholders in Ghana�s electoral process. The Electoral Commission (EC), the body saddled with the responsibility of organizing all public elections, appears not to be ready with the exercise which is being implemented for the first time in the country. About three months to the close of the year, there is no time table for the implementation of the all-important project which is being adopted to ensure transparency in Ghana�s electoral process as has been witnessed in the recent past. The concerns are being raised in view of the recent performance of the Commission in organizing public elections, especially the just-ended district assembly elections, which were organized in bits and pieces, with some electoral areas yet to elect their assembly members to represent them at their district assemblies. Central to the use of biometric registration is the amendment to the country�s electoral law to make room for the use of the new technology. The EC is yet to submit to Parliament the necessary instrument for the amendment of the law as C.I. 12 requires the commission to do. The Acting Director of Public Affairs of the EC, Christian Owusu-Parry, recently assured the country that there was no cause for alarm over the amendment of the electoral law, but DAILY GUIDE checks indicate that nothing is in the offing as Parliament is even on a long recess. The amendment of the Public Election Act, even when presented to Parliament, is expected to remain in the House for 21 days before any debate, and with the House currently on recess, the possible period for the amendment is November. A question on the lips of political pundits is �when will the EC organize public education for the public and training for the stakeholders since the process is entirely new in the country?� The Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan-led team has kept the political parties, the major stakeholders in the entire process, in the dark, regarding the selection of a contractor for the project. The firms have been shortlisted for the exercise while another disgruntled company is already in court over the selection process. A company which has no track record in ICT, but only deals in padlocks, has rather been shortlisted as the leading contender for the all-important project. The EC has turned a deaf ear to suggestions to open up the process for the crucial 2012 polls in order to ensure greater transparency as the commission keeps everything to its chests. Recently, Dr. Afari-Gyan, in a President Atta Mills� �dzi wo fie asem� fashion (mind your own business), slammed critics of the exercise, especially religious leaders who are eagerly praying for Ghana to get it right in 2012. The most worrying aspect of the entirely confused process is the EC�s silence on the equally crucial issue of verification. Without verification, biometric is useless, as recently alluded to by former President John Agyekum Kufuor. Verification is central to the application of biometric registration in order to prevent multiple voting. The commission has requested $80million for the project and government has agreed to release it and in the opinion of Mr Kufuor, the cost of the verification would not be too much to consign it to the trash bin. Mr. Owusu-Parry, to the chagrin of political observers, said verification was not part of the exercise, exacerbating the confusion. The EC has not come out on the removal of multiple registrations, also known as de-duplication.