Majority Leader: It’s improper for the EC to rely on the Ghana Card.

It will be difficult for the Electoral Commission (EC) to rely just on the Ghana Card for voter registration, according to Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

He noted that the National Identification Authority’s (NIA) continuous difficulties in issuing the Ghana Card continued to be a hindrance, which is why the Ghana Card could not be the only document used for voter registration.

Early

Yesterday at a Parliamentary Press Corps leadership meeting, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated that it would be too soon to rely just on the Ghana Card for voter registration.

Citing the potential for systemic misuse, the EC suggested making the Ghana Card the only document required for voter registration in the general election of 2024.

Speaking to the media, the majority leader said that a large number of eligible voters who had registered with the NIA had not yet received their Ghana cards.

“The exclusion of eligible voters who do not possess the Ghana Card has led to criticism of the EC’s initial decision to link voter registration for the district-level elections to the card.

Therefore, he warned, “it will lead to similar issues if the Ghana Card becomes the only document needed for voter registration.”

The House’s Leader of Government Business stated that it would not be practical for the EC to register new voters based only on the Ghana Card because a large number of eligible voters still do not have one.

It would be tough, he remarked, to suggest that you were limiting it to the Ghana Card.

The MP for Suame stated that the instrument might be brought onto the Ghana Card if the EC could guarantee that every qualified Ghanaian would receive one.

“However, it becomes challenging to link registration exclusively to the Ghana Card if you acknowledge that not every eligible Ghanaian has been registered or is capable of being registered,” he stated.

NIA and EC must work together.
The Ghana Card, according to Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, is not identification evidence and cannot take the place of the ability to vote in a democratic process.

“About 62 percent of people who registered had no Ghana Card, and it ties in exactly to what the House decided,” he stated.

As a result, Dr. Forson pleaded with the EC to reconsider its choice and to collaborate closely with the NIA to guarantee that qualified voters are registered.

C.I. on Guan Constituency

Responding to a question on the EC having withdrawn the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) meant for the creation of the Guan Constituency, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the EC, on Parliament convening, presented the instrument for presentation and concurrently might have submitted another one for its withdrawal.

“My own position was that if they had spoken to me earlier, the request for the withdrawal would not have been necessary,” he said.

Throwing more light on the issue, the Minority Leader said the Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Dr. Dominic Ayine, last Tuesday briefed him that the committee’s position was that the EC could hold district-level elections for the Guan Constituency after “we have actually gone through the processes of electing assembly members for the other constituencies”.

Thus, he said, “the EC had no basis to withdraw the C.I.”

According to Dr. Ato Forson, there was an understanding between the members of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee and the European Commission that the C.I. should no longer be withheld.

He stated, “We may need to have that conversation if the basis for the withdrawal has to do with the conduct of the district-level elections alone. If it means that Parliament will have to sit for a few more days, then another date can be set two or three weeks after.”

“Therefore, as leaders, we are having that conversation to ensure that the people of Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and the Lolobi will have their constituency,” Dr. Forson continued.

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