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The Electoral Commission (EC) will from today December 3 to Wednesday December 5 undertake a registration exercise for voters in Gayingo, Doba, Akunikongo/Abemtingo and Atosale/Azaasi electoral areas in the Kassena Nankana East District of the Upper East region. This follows an order by the Fast Track High Court presided over by Justice U.P. Dery after finding the EC Chairman Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and two other officials of the commission guilty of contempt for disregarding an order to conduct biometric registration of voters in the area. The order directed the Electoral Commission to undertake registration of voters in those areas. The action of the court was informed by a judgment given on October 18, 2012 against the EC and six others by a court, presided over by Justice Edward Asante Amoako, which ordered the EC to conduct registration of voters in eight affected registration centres of the Atosale/Azaasi and Akumkongo/Abempingo Electoral areas within 14 days. The farming community threatened not to take part in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in December because they were unhappy with the change of name of some of the polling stations. A statement signed by the Deputy Chairman of Operations, K. Safo-Kantanka, reminded all eligible voters in the areas mentioned �to take with them one of the following to show as proof of their eligibility; a passport, driver�s license, old voter ID card, National Health Insurance card or a National Identification Card. �Applicants who qualify to register, but do not possess any of the identification cards indicated above are required to bring two guarantors who are already registered voters to attest to their qualification to register as voters,� the statement added. Registration is scheduled to start at 7am and end at 5pm each day. An Accra Fast Track High Court presided over by Justice Utter Peter Dery on Friday found Dr. Afari- Gyan guilty of contempt of court for failing to comply with the court order to ensure that 3,000 residents of the area undertook the biometric voter registration for the upcoming general elections. This was a case in which four persons within the Kasena-Nankani District filed an application to have Dr Afari-Gyan, the Deputy Chairman, Kwadwo Sarfo Kantanka, the District Electoral Officer, Nicholas Pawiah cited for contempt. The judge, who gave the EC 14 days to comply with the order to start the biometric registration of the people, noted that the EC boss failed to comply with the order even when he was served and the security agencies were tasked to assist in the registration. Dr Afari-Gyan who seemed surprised at the outcome of the decision, managed to smile during the judgment and looked well composed while he sat in the courtroom. He and the other defendants were given up to December 5, 2012 to purge themselves. According to the trial judge, the defendants lost the substantive case in which the applicants sued them. However, the defendants later filed an application for stay of the judgment but they lost both at the High Court and Court of Appeal. Justice Dery said both the applicants and the security officers in the Upper East Region were served with the entry of judgment to ensure that the voter registration took place smoothly, reiterating that both were very much aware of the court�s order. Furthermore, he said the security agencies that had a duty to ensure order in society and could not have refused if the defendants had discussed with them when the voter registration would take place for them to assist. The judge said the defendants willfully failed to comply with the court order and said he found them guilty of contempt of court. Anthony Darby and James Quarshie-Idun who were counsel for the EC prayed the court to rescind the bench warrant against the defendants which he had earlier issued. The court accordingly rescinded the bench warrant.