Politics

Ghana Card is most authentic means of identifying citizens – EC declares

The Electoral Commission (EC) has declared that the Ghana Card is the most authentic means of identifying citizens hence its decision to use it in compiling a new database of voters.

The Electoral Management Body explained that over the years, voter registration exercises had been marked by pockets of confusion across the country and usage of the card as the primary source document for collating new voter registers would cease the challenges.

“Despite opposition from some sections of the populace, we will go ahead to use the Ghana Card for the compilation of the new voters’ register,” the Commission maintained.

But the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has threatened to use every legal means to prevent the EC from using the Ghana Card to compile a new voters’ register and proposal to use the card was a deliberate scheme designed to disenfranchise eligible citizens ahead of the 2024 polls; especially those in the party’s strongholds.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, Ofosu Ampofo, Chairman of the NDC, stated that the NDC would fiercely resist the move becausethe decision by the EC would end up denying millions of the citizenry their rights to vote as many people had not yet registered for their Ghana Cards.

He called on the EC to abandon the newly proposed Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) as it was yet to be put before Parliament and insisted that since the C.I. had not formally been laid before the House, the EC must abandon the idea altogether.

Mr Ampofo served notice the party would use every lawful means to resist the latest effort to undermine the right of Ghanaians to vote and alleged that in the processes skew electoral system in favour of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and demanded immediate cessation of all developments on the new C.I.

However, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, Director of Operations of EC, pointed out that everybody who had been following registrations in Ghana would realise tensions which crop up at registration centres were related to who is a Ghanaianand who is faking, you would have political parties, especially NPP and NDC at each other’s throats about who a Ghanaian is and acquiring a Ghana Card would address the issue.

“On issue of large number of citizens without Ghana Cards, such people have up to October 2024 to get the cards hence no one will be disenfranchised since there is enough time for the citizenry to access it and be enrolled on the new voters’ register,” Dr Quaicoe assured.

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