The Electoral Commission (EC) has dismissed claims by the Minority Caucus that it intends to compile a new voters’ register at an estimated cost of $80 million.
It touted the 2020 voters’ register as the best hence the Electoral Management Body had no intention of replacing it.
“The Constitutional Instrument (C.I) presented to Parliament is only geared towards making the Ghana Card the sole identification document for the continuous registration processes which it will be embarking on,” the Commission indicated.
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, addressing the press in Parliament, hinted that they had picked up information the EC was hatching plans to compile a new voters’ register using the Ghana Card as the only identification document and cautioned that it had the potential of disenfranchising eligible voters if implemented.
But Dr Serebour Quaicoe, theDirector of Electoral Services of EC, explained that the Commission compiled a new voters’ register in 2020 at a cost which he did not disclose but was quick to add that the Electoral Management Body would not discard the register.
“I do not think anybody in the Electoral Commission will feel they want to discard the register, I can assure the citizenry it is the best register ever compiled by the Commission so we have confidence, trust and we will never dispose of the register and the issue is, instead of once a while disposing off the register and compiling a new one, why don’t we go through continuous registration exercise so we have sent a new C.I to Parliament.
“The new C.I dictates if you are a Ghanaian and attain the age of 18 and visit our district office with your Ghana Card, you will be registered and added to the Voter’s Register through continuous registration,” Dr Quaicoe explained.
He said the next general elections is in 2024 and by the end of this year whoever wanted to acquire the Ghana Card would receive it and then register and admitted that whenever a register was compiled, people alleged foreigners and underage were registered and there was the need for form of identification to assist the Commission.
Dr Quaicoe berated the Minority’s claims and pointed out that they (Minority caucus) had not read the law thoroughly because it did not state there was going to be a compilation of new voters’ register.
