I cringe when EC says the passport isn't a credible source of confirming the identity of a Ghanaian - Lawyer

Private legal practitioner, Bobby Banson, has expressed his disappointment with the Electoral Commission of Ghana’s position that the Ghanaian passport is not a reliable way of identifying a citizen of the country.

According to the lawyer, the EC’s position does not make use because the passport is currently the only document used to identify Ghanaians abroad as citizens

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Speaking in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the lawyer added that the EC should revise its decision to use only the Ghana Card to register prospective voters for the 2024 general elections.

“Like we have always had in the past, we should have an alternative means of confirming whether the person is 18 years, whether the person is a Ghanaian, where that person is from somewhere.

“We have the passport; I have always argued that the passport (is the best way to identify a Ghanaian)…. I cringe when the electoral commission makes the submission that the passport is not a credible source of confirming the identity or otherwise of a Ghanaian.

“Outside the shores of Ghana, as we have it now, the only accepted means of identifying a Ghanaian is a passport. So, if we say to the rest of the world that the passport is the surest means of confirming the age or the citizenship of a Ghanaian, but within the shores of Ghana, we will not accept it as the most credible source than it is very inconsistent for me," he said.

Banson made these remarks while reacting to reports of the EC tabling a new C.I before Parliament, seeking to use only the Ghana Card for voters' registration.

The new CI, which is titled Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2021, laid in Parliament, aims to continuously register Ghanaians who turn 18 using only the Ghana Card as the required document for the exercise.

Another key proposal in the bill is the creation of two voter registers, namely the electoral area register and the constituency register.

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