Parliament Unanimously Rejects Electoral Commission’s CI on Ghana Card as Sole Registration Document

Parliament has, by a unanimous decision, rejected the Electoral Commission (EC) Constitutional Instrument (CI), that intends to make the Ghana card the sole registration document.

This follows last month’s meeting between the members of parliament and the EC led by its Chairperson, Jean Mensa, and the National Identification Authority (NIA) led by the Executive Secretary, Prof Ken Attafuah.

The proposed CI seeks to use the Ghana Card as the only source document for registration onto the voters register.

That CI met stiff opposition from the minority in parliament, which rejected the move and cast doubts on the capacity of the NIA to issue Ghana cards to all applicants who have registered for the cards before the 2024 general elections.

In Parliament on Friday, March 31, 2023, a report of the committee of the whole on the draft public elections (registration of voters) regulations, 2023, and other related matters said the House will not accept moves to make the Ghana card the only registration document.

“The Committee, having thoroughly interrogated the issues and reforms being contemplated by the EC, would like to reiterate its support for any effort that would enable every Ghanaian to get a Ghana card because it is the law.”

“However, the Committee would like to stress that it would not accept and would reject any effort that is geared towards making the EC use the Ghana card as the only medium to qualify a person who is eligible to vote in 2024 elections,” portions of the report read.

Members of parliament from both sides of the House in debating the report highlighted the dangers of the proposed CI and cautioned the EC to desist from that move.

Source: TNO