Don’t Use Falsehood to Disenfrandise Ghanaians – Ahmed Ibrahim to NPP

Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip in Parliament, Ibrahim Ahmed, has urged his colleagues on the Majority side to desist from using falsehood to disenfrandise Ghanaians.

He maintained that the attempt by the Majority to use only Ghana Card as means of voting is premised on falsehood.

According to him, the resolve by the Electoral Commission to rely on the Ghana Identification Authority (NIA) to make Ghanaians use only their Ghana Cards as voting permit because the guarantee system in the EC is abused is untenable. This is because, the NIA also uses the very guarantee system to issue cards to Ghanaians.

Briefing a section of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) in his office last Friday, Hon. Ahmed observed that the EC, in its attempt to use only the Ghana Card from NIA as the source of voting had done away with such vital Documents as voter ID card, Driver’s License, Passport and the guarantee system.

He was quick to point out that the EC’s claim becomes all the more untenable taking into consideration C1 91 (a) that empowers the EC to do continuous Registration of Voters who attain 18 on yearly basis Therefore, no new CI is needed, whereby those afore-mentioned necessary documents should be discarded.

Hon. Ahmed revealed that when the EC was asked by Parliament to bring witnesses for its stance, only four (4) persons were so for brought in this regard, and this is not representative enough!. “why then use fabricated and dubious means to disenfrandise Ghanaians?” he qurried.

NIA Has Its Own Problems

The outspoken chief whip, stated that at a Ministerial Briefing of July 14, 2022 on the status of the issuance and printing of ECOWAS (Ghana Card) to Ghanaians by the NIA, it came to pass that the NIA was also beset with its own problems these problems he said, included sending electricity and connectivity to remotest parts of the country, lack of funds, shortage of personnel and many more.

Hon. Ahmed also told the Press that for the ordinary Ghanaian to be issued with a Ghana Card now, compels him to part with GH¢ 250.00 and also travel a long distance from his rural dwelling to the urban or District center for this insurance. What is more rural dwellers cannot afford this.

He has subsequently appealed to the EC to consider its stances and have many Ghanaians as possible get the Ghana Card so that they are not disenfrandise. In this regard, he appealed to government to resource the NIA to enable it live up to expectation.

By S.O Ankamah