Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged Ghanaians who do not have voter ID cards to take advantage of the limited registration exercise to be organised by the Electoral Commission next week to acquire it.
The 2024 flagbearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) made this known during his facebook live session yesterday.
“I am here to encourage you, wherever you are in Ghana or beyond, that if you do not have a voter ID card, especially if you have just turned 18, to take advantage of the exercise, which starts on September 12, 2023” , he said.
Hope for a better Ghana
According to the flagbearer of the NDC, Ghanaians’ vote in 2024 will symbolise their hope for a better Ghana, a determination to overcome the challenges we face and their commitment to help build the “Ghana We Want Together – a Ghana that guarantees you, your children, your siblings, and our unborn generation a brighter and sustainable future with well-paying jobs”.
This, he said, would only happen when they acquire a voter ID card and cast their vote for the NDC in the election on December 7, 2024.
Mr. Mahama encouraged comrades in the NDC to put aside every other thing or activity and “let’s give our maximum attention and focus to the upcoming exercise.”
Power in the thumb
He believed that young people held immense power in their hands and as such the upcoming limited voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission was an opportunity to start the process towards making their voices heard and shaping the future of Ghana.
“As a people, it is the starting point in our quest to bring about real change in our country. You and I are responsible for using our votes wisely, holding our leaders accountable, and demanding the change we desperately need. It is the surest way to secure our democracy”, he added.
Right to vote
To Mr Mahama acquiring a voter ID affirms one’s right to vote and access to a voter ID should be easy and not limited by location and every Ghanaian deserves the chance to exercise his or her democratic right.
He urged the Electoral Commission to facilitate the registration exercise in all electoral areas to allow for easy access and a reduced burden on the citizenry in their quest to register.
He also challenge the Commission to be transparent with the processes preceding the start of the limited voter registration exercise, the replacement of voter ID cards, and the transfer of votes.
“As has been requested in a formal letter to the Commission by the General Secretary of the NDC, we want to know when the names and pictures of the Registration Supervisors, Registration Officers, Registration Assistants, and other officials for the exercises will be published at the district level, as stipulated by the EC regulations”, he noted.
Call for extension of the exercise
The former president reiterated that it is also our recommendation that in line with Regulation 2(2b) of C.I. 91, as amended by C.I. 126, the Commission listens to calls for the extension of the exercise to take place in the electoral areas and not be limited to the district offices of the Commission.
This, he said, would curb many inconveniences, including transportation, lack of money to move from distant locations, and access.
He concluded by urging all Ghanaians, especially the youth, to take this exercise seriously. “It is your opportunity to hold your leaders accountable. It is about your rights; it is about your future! It is about our dear nation, Ghana”.
