The Electoral Commission (EC) has backed down on its earlier decision to use the Ghana card as the sole document for the registration of voters in the limited registration exercise ahead of the December 7 general elections.
This follows a decision by the EC not to present a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) to Parliament.
“The Commission would not introduce new Constitutional Instruments (C.I.s) ahead of the Voter Registration Exercise and the General Elections. The existing C.I.s will remain in force,” the Commission noted in a joint statement it issued with representatives of the various political parties at the March 7 Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting.
The current C.I. 126, which was ratified by Parliament before the 2020 General Election, acknowledges the passport and guarantor system as viable methods for new registrants to verify their identification as Ghanaians.
Also, indelible ink will remain in the mix of systems for identifying people who have voted during the elections.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), and the Progressive People’s Party were present at the meeting.
Other stakeholders in the electoral process included democratic institutions, civil society organisations (CSOs), faith-based organisations, and development partners.
The electoral calendar, which the EC had presented to the major parties, was the main topic of discussion.
Although the Commission did not talk to the press after the meeting, the representatives of the political parties acknowledged the important points the participants had agreed on.
“Very cordial, with a lot of agreements reached. The chairperson made statements on a number of issues that we have been arguing about for some time now,” NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, Omane Boamah, underscored.
“The EC Chairperson said the guarantor system will be used for the limited registration ahead of the December 7 elections, and this is good because it is backed by data that many people still used that system for registration in 2020,” he added.
Evans Nimako, Director of Research and Elections for the governing NPP, reaffirmed the position of Dr. Boamah’s statements, indicating that the EC had informed political parties that it would not submit a new CI to Parliament for the conduct of this year’s elections.
“This means that indelible ink will be used; the date for the election remains unchanged, and there will be a guarantor system,” he stated.
However, Mr. Nimako stated that his party would not condone the situation in which some stakeholders acted as guarantors for minors and non-citizens on the electoral album.
He explained, “It is the reason why the NPP was in support of the new CI that will ensure that it is the Ghana Card that will be used.”
Meanwhile, the EC has scheduled the limited registration exercise on Tuesday, May 7. The 21-day exercise will end on Monday, May 27, 2024.
