After all the hue and cry, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Jean Mensa, finally went to Parliament on Tuesday, this week, to explain to the Legislative House the new Constitutional Instrument (CI) they were drafting to guide the conduct of the 2024 elections. Prior to her appearing in the House, the perception was that only the bearers of the Ghana Card would be allowed to vote in the elections.
But, as she explained to the members of Parliament (MPs), the EC is not doing away with the Voter I.D. Card – it is still the only document one can use to vote on Election Day. However, for a new voter to acquire the card, he or she will have to produce the Ghana Card as the sole document. This, she explained, is to avoid the situation where unqualified people find their names on the Voter Register through the guarantor system currently in place.
On the same day Mrs Jean Mensa appeared in Parliament, The Chronicle listened to the General Secretary of the People National Convention (PNC), Janet Anabila, on Radio Ghana news broadcast at 8pm. According to Anabila, per the explanation that had been given to them by the EC, it is only new voters who will be required to produce the Ghana Card before they are registered onto the voter register.
This means those who are already on the Voters’ Register are not required to produce the Ghana Card before they will be allowed to vote. Though her explanation, coupled with what the EC Chair had told Parliament, makes sense to us, as there are still others, including the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), who oppose the move being made by the EC.
Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, former Chair of the EC, NDC and the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) have all kicked against the removal of the guarantor system and other ID Cards for the introduction of the Ghana Card as the sole identification document for prospective voters to get onto the Voter Register. On the same Radio Ghana news bulletin we earlier referenced, a representative from the CDD, who was also interviewed, took the argument a notch higher.
He contended that the National Identification Authority (NIA) cannot be relied upon to register more people within a relatively short possible time, to enable the new holders of the Ghana Card to register with the EC. Looking at the frustration people are going through before registering and getting their Ghana Cards, one cannot, but agree with this school of thought, that it will be dangerous to rely on the NIA.
Fortunately, the NIA itself had told Parliament that it had received the needed funding to execute the job, and that nobody should entertain any fear. The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who was in Parliament on the same day the NIA and the EC were invited, also assured the nation that the funds had been released to the NIA.
In our view, these assurances should be enough to assuage any fear that the registration of new voters can run into trouble. On the issue of the guarantor system, it is also our argument that nobody should press the panic button yet. The NIA has not abolished the guarantor system – it is still applicable for people who do not have the basic requirements for registration onto their system.
The NDC must, therefore, encourage their supporters to get people who can guarantee that they are, indeed, Ghanaians and they will be registered by the NIA. In our opinion, the EC has only shifted the guarantor system from their end to the NIA, and this is not any big deal. If anything at all, this will help to cut down on cost and stop the duplication of functions by state institutions.
We need to avoid the violence that is always associated with registration of new voters, especially claims being made among the political parties that some of those who intend to register are minors and, therefore, not qualified to be registered.
This does not augur well for our democracy and it is about time all stakeholders rise up to the challenge to move our democratic dispensation to another pedestal.
