The Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to use only the Ghana Card to register prospective voters ahead of the 2024 general elections is politically motivated.
This is according to the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi.
“The only reason why the Electoral Commission wants to register people with Ghana Card is that they want to rig the 2024 elections for NPP [New Patriotic Party],” he said in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Monday.
In July, the EC placed before Parliament a draft C.I. titled: Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2021, which is expected to regulate continuous voter registration.
Per the new C.I., the EC is seeking to make the Ghana Card the sole form of identification for eligible voters who want to get onto the electoral roll.
The C.I. has been referred to the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament which is chaired by a member of the Minority.
NDC Members of Parliament have already served notice it will oppose the decision described by their party as “absurd”.
In support, Sammy Gyamfi said the move by the EC led by its chairperson, Jean Mensah “defies logic”.
He explained that Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution stated that every Ghanaian of 18 years and above and of sound mind is entitled to register as a voter for the purposes of elections.
He stressed that this right to register and exercise one’s franchise is an inalienable right that should not be denied citizens who qualify to exercise same.
As a political party that is seeking to redeem Ghanaians from the untoward hardship under the Akufo-Addo, Sammy Gyamfi said it will not allow the EC to disenfranchise any voter to the advantage of the NPP.
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