Draft C.I. for continuous voter registration unconstitutional – NDC

The National Democratic Congress has stated that a proposed Constitution Instrument (C.I.) for the registration of voters for the 2024 Election by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is unconstitutional.

According to the NDC, the C.I. if approved by parliament will lead to the violation of the constitutional right of many Ghanaians because

Read full articleof a regulation in it which states that “a person who applies for registration as a voter shall provide as evidence of identification the National Identity Card (Ghana Card) issued by National Identification Authority.”

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, said that the regulation effectively changes how Ghanaians are identified for voter registration.

“Under the current regulations i.e. C.I. 126, a person who qualifies to register as a voter may prove his or her identity by either presenting a valid Ghana passport, a national identity card (not a national identity card issued by the National Identification Authority as proposed in this C.I.), or a voter registration identification form signed by two registered voters within the community.

“What the EC proposes to do with the new C.I. is to eliminate the two other sources of proof of identity i.e. the Ghana passport and the guarantee system leaving the Ghana Card as the only means of identity,” he said.

He added that the proposed C.I. also violates Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution which states that ‘Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purpose of public elections and referenda.’

Ofosu-Ampofo explained that should the draft C.I. be passed; it will disenfranchise all eligible voters who do not have the Ghana Card through no fault of theirs but the NIA itself has indicated its limitation when it comes to the issuance of cards.

Meanwhile, the EC has indicated that the guarantor system will no longer be used for the registration of voters in the country.

According to the commission, the guarantor system will no longer be used because it has a lot of issues that affected the quality of the electoral register, citinewsroom.com reports.

Deputy Chairman of the commission in charge of operations, Samuel Tettey who disclosed this, said that his outfit will only be using the Ghana Card for the next voters’ registration.

He added that no Ghanaian will be disenfranchised because persons who do not have the voter's card can go to the district offices of the commission to get registered anytime they get the Ghana Card.

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has, on the other hand, welcomed the decision of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to abolish the guarantor system and the use of only the Ghana Card for the upcoming continuous voters’ registration for the 2024 election.

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