Former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan believes the EC's decision to use the Ghana Card as the only source document for continuous voter registration can disenfranchise millions of qualified electorate.
According to him, Ghanaians are finding it difficult to get their Ghana Cards, making it the only form of identification for voter registration was against electoral inclusivity, fairness and justice.
“Ghanaian citizens don’t lose their citizenship if they are 18 years or older but do not have the Ghana Card. So, the moot question is: why make the Ghana Card the only means of identification for purposes of establishing eligibility to register to vote,” Dr Afari-Gyan queried.
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The Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare this week warned prospective voters to obtain a Ghana card since that will be a requirement for voting in the 2024 election.
Speaking in an interview in Accra, Dr. Asare said without a Ghana card, one will not be registered to vote.
This, he said is because the Ghana card has made an impact in the society with almost 17 million Ghanaians registered for it.
He said the Commission in collaboration with partners took the decision to now have the Ghana card as the main requirement.
He used the opportunity to encourage citizens between the ages of 15 to 18 to register for their Ghana card “so that as soon as they turn 18 they can present it to the registration officer then instantly get registered.”
The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Kenneth Attafuah, disclosed to the media last month that his outfit had handed over 15.7 million Ghana Cards to Ghanaians, out of 16,969,034, who had registered.