Bright Simons, the vice-president of IMANI Ghana, has said the decision by the Electoral Commission to use the Ghana Card as the only source of document for continuous voter registration will not stop the guarantor form of identification in the country.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has said the use of the Ghana Card as the only source of document for continuous voter registration is to eliminate the phenomenon of underage voting.
A former EC chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan is warning that the decision by the EC will disenfranchise millions of qualified electorate.
Reacting to the development, Simons said the EC is clueless.
“The ever confused Ghanaian Electoral Commission says it’s limiting registration to only those with Ghana Cards to stop the “guarantor” form of identification. Are these folks even aware that the main form of ID for Ghana Cards has been “guarantors”?” Simons tweeted.
The ever confused Ghanaian Electoral Commission says it’s limiting registration to only those with Ghana Cards to stop the “guarantor” form of identification. Are these folks even aware that the main form of ID for Ghana Cards has been “guarantors”?#Dafthttps://t.co/zoblbvJmwG
— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) August 11, 2022
EC must use Ghana Card for 2028 elections
Meanwhile, Kwame Jantuah, a private legal practitioner, has suggested to the Electoral Commission (EC) to use the Ghana Card for the 2028 elections to give room for more Ghanaians to acquire the national card.
A former EC chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan has said the EC’s decision to use the Ghana Card as the only source document for continuous voter registration could disenfranchise millions of qualified electorate.
“I would have preferred that the Ghana Card will not be used for the 2024 election but rather in 2028 because by then, everyone would’ve been registered, Jantuah said on The Forum – Asaase 99.5 Accra’s news analysis and current affairs show on Saturday (6 August).
“I don’t understand what the hoo-hah is about. For me, the most important thing is for the EC and political parties to work in sync. This argy-bargy doesn’t help,” he told host Kwaku Agyeman Budu.
“The EC should have a strategic partnership with the people of Ghana. Strategic in the sense that, they have to educate us, listen to the debates from people and not wait on political parties,” he said.
Speaking on the same programme, Charles Bissue, a former general secretary aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) called on the EC to engage the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the use of the Ghana Card for the 2024 elections.
“The conversation has been very clear and we all agree that it’s not a controversial issue. The EC should engage [the main opposition party] and the NDC should measure its level of confrontation.”
“I agree with former president John Mahama when he said the education on this exercise must continue,” Bissue said.
Fred Dzakpata
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