Don't use Ghana Card for 2024 voters register- Minority tells EC

The Minority in Parliament is opposing plans by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to use Ghana Card for the compilation of 2024 voters register.

The Minority says if the EC goes ahead with such a plan, several Ghanaians would be disenfranchised since many citizens are yet to receive their cards.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, Member of Parliament for the Ningo-Prampram Constituency, Sam George posited that as of now, scores of Ghanaians have not received their Ghana Cards, despite having registered for the same.

According to him, it would be unfair for the Electoral Commission to use the Ghana Card as the source document for the compilation of the 2024 Voters Register when several citizens were yet to get theirs.

“The Ministry of Communication has issued a deadline of 30th of this month, that [from the] first of July, they’re going to deactivate SIM cards...The Bank of Ghana says that your money that is in your account that you paid in, from the 1st of July, you cannot access it without a Ghana Card. And they’re all [making] references to a legislative instrument from this House, LI 2111."

"Even the Electoral Commission is preparing to bring us a CI that is to create a new Voters Register using the Ghana Card. But majority of our constituents have registered since 2018. The National Identification Authority (NIA) is unable to provide them with their Ghana Cards”, he stated.

“So, as representatives of the Ghanaian people, what is this House going to do between now and the 30th of this month to ensure that our constituents who have registered for the Ghana Card get the Ghana Card so that they’re not disenfranchised?”

“What plans do we have, to have the Interior Minister who oversees the NIA, the Communications Minister who oversees the NCA, and the Finance Minister who has some oversight over the Bank of Ghana, to appear before us to deal with these issues of timeline”, he added.