The Electoral Commission (EC) is clarifying its decision to back down on plans to use the Ghana Card as the sole identification document for the upcoming general election.
The EC’s Director of Electoral Services, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, says it will only be reconsidered when Ghanaians are fully satisfied with the prospects.
The existing C.I. 126, which was passed by Parliament ahead of the 2020 General Election, recognises the use of the passport and the guarantor system as valid means for new registrants to prove their identity as Ghanaians.a
The EC’s decision to maintain C.I. 126 also means that the guarantor system, which the Commission had intended to abolish in subsequent registration exercises, would be applicable to new registrants.
These were some major fallouts of an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held in Accra on Thursday, March 7, chaired by Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the EC.
One of the major concerns for Ghanaians was the fear that all Ghanaians have their Ghana Cards which may lead to disenfranchisement.
In an interview with JoyNews, he explained that the EC will only reintroduce the legislation when there is consensus on the matter.
“Anybody in the commission, who appreciates the system will want us to roll controls out the continuous registration and the continuous registration is contingent on the use of the Ghana Card,” he said on PM Express.
According to Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, “Anytime that Ghanaians are satisfied that a lot of the Ghana Cards have been produced and almost everybody has gotten it, it will be rolled out because that is what we will be happy rolling out with the continuous registration.
“So for 2024, it will not [be used] but it is not dead.”
Representatives of the two major political parties – the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – told journalists after the March 7 meeting that the EC had also rescinded its decision to abolish the use of indelible ink in the 2024 Election.
The parties said the EC also agreed to extend the next limited voters registration exercise beyond its district offices to cover electoral areas that are ‘hard to reach’.
The Commission is said to have announced the creation of 4,000 more polling stations in addition to the over 38,000 existing polling stations for the 2024 General Election.
The EC also tabled its calendar for the 2024 Election and granted the parties the opportunity to make input.