Political parties divided over new Voters C.I.

Four political parties have expressed conflicting positions on the proposed new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) that seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for continuous voters’ registration.

Madam Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, on Tuesday, briefed Parliament’s Committee of the Whole on the new draft Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2022.

She told the House that the use of the Ghana Card as the source document to prove one’s identity would help to rid the electoral register of foreigners and help guarantee the integrity and credibility of the register.

In separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency, officials of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); the National Democratic Congress (NDC); the Convention People’s Party (CPP), and the People’s National Convention (PNC) expressed varied opinions about the proposed instrument.

Whereas the NPP and the PNC support the new C.I. saying it would help sanitise the voter register, the NDC and the CPP expressed concern about the move, expressing fear that eligible Ghanaians who “genuinely” could not access the Ghana Card ahead of the 2024 Election could be disenfranchised.

All the Parties, however, agreed on the need for the Government to resource the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register all Ghanaians and issue them their cards on time.

Mr Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communications, NPP, said the decision to use the Ghana Card as sole identity document “is in order”.

“I think the EC is threading in the right direction, looking to be progressive, and add to the efforts to evolve our electoral system,” he said.

Mr Ahiagbah said the robustness of the verification system put in place by the NIA before the issuance of the Ghana Card guaranteed the credibility of the process, which could be leveraged by the EC.

“We have created a Ghana card, which has become the primary identification document in Ghana. It is the foundation of identity in Ghana. So, if anybody holds the Ghana Card, it tells you that person is Ghanaian.

“So, the EC doesn’t have to repeat that process to verify that person who has gone through rigorous system of verification,” he said.

Ms Janet Nabla, the General Secretary, PNC, supported the new C.I. saying the use of the guarantor system in the registration of voters had over the years offered a window to foreigners and minors to get onto the register.

“The PNC will not accept the guarantor system because it is fraudulent and full of complexities,” she said.

While urging the NIA to make the necessary arrangements to register the citizenry, Ms Nabla said Ghanaians must prioritise acquisition of the Ghana Card and submit to the laid down procedures.

Mr Mustapha Foyoo Gbande, Deputy General Secretary, NDC, said the new C.I. is “flawed on logic and point of law”.

He said the use of the Ghana Card as the only identity document had the potential to disenfranchise many eligible voters particularly those in remote areas.

“The EC is threading on a very dangerous path. The EC is taking decision that will obviously disenfranchise Ghanaians.

“If you (EC) want to proceed, then there must be other means by which innocent Ghanaians who have not been able to have a Ghana Card not on their failure, to participate in the registration process,” Mr Gbande said.

Nana Akosua Frimpongmaa Sarpong Kumankumah, the Chairperson of CPP, said the EC must focus on delivering its constitutional mandate of registering all eligible voters and should not rely on the NIA in the discharge of its duty.

She said the challenges encountered in the use of the Ghana Card for the registration of SIM cards indicated that relying on the card alone to register voters could be problematic.

“I think the EC’s constitutional mandate has been compromised. It appears that they are hiding under the NIA, another institution that is not a constitutional requirement to execute its mandate.

“If you are now putting the systems in place to make sure that we sanitise our identity, then we should not in the process disenfranchise others,” Nana Kumankumah said.

She said the CPP would send a memo to the EC, in which the Party would propose “basic solutions” to sanitise the voter register.

Unlike in the past where the EC periodically conducted limited registration exercises for new eligible voters, the new C.I. seeks to promote the continuous registration of voters (all-year round) in the district offices of the EC.

The EC’s appearance at the Parliament House on Tuesday formed part of pre-laying consultation processes with Parliament.

Source: Ghana News Agency