The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, has revealed that the commission has taken significant steps to remove 15,000 names of minors and foreigners from the voters’ register.
The EC Chairperson revealed this at a press conference dubbed ’Let the Citizen Know’ in Accra on Thursday, August 17.
Addressing the issue, Ms Mensa acknowledged that the 2020 registration exercise highlighted instances where minors and foreigners managed to enter the voters’ roll through the guarantor system.
To address this concern, the EC established District Registration Review Committees, which worked diligently over several weeks to identify and eliminate ineligible names from the register.
“Our experience from the 2020 registration exercise showed that several minors and foreigners using the window of the guarantor system found their way into our roll. To rid the register of minors and foreigners in 2020, the EC established the District Registration Review Committees which worked for several weeks to delete the names of minors and foreigners from the register.
“It took substantial time and effort to expunge the names of illegal persons from our roll. During the registration, some 40,000 minors and foreigners were challenged and we managed to expunge some 15,000 minors and foreigners from the register,” she stated.
Ms. Mensa emphasized that the EC’s intention to adopt the Ghana Card as the sole document for voter registration is not aimed at disenfranchising Ghanaians.
Instead, it is a strategic move to bolster the integrity of the electoral roll and mitigate the recurrence of such incidents.
She said the Commission was not interested in continuing the guarantor system, which she said has outlived its usefulness, hence the decision to adopt the Ghana card as the sole identification document to vote.
She further explained that the use of the Ghana Card is the surest way to ensure the integrity of Ghana’s electoral roll.