By Iddi Yire
Accra, Feb 28, GNA – The Electoral Commission (EC) expunged 40,000 minors and foreigners from the electoral register during the 2020 Registration Exercise.
This, Mrs Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the EC, said was achieved in 2020 through the establishment of the District Registration Review Committees, which worked several days and weeks in all districts to expunge the names of minors and foreigners from the register.
Mrs Mensa disclosed this in her presentation to Parliament’s Committee of the Whole in Accra.
“We were able to successfully expunge over 40,000 minors and foreigners from the Register during the Registration Exercise, Mrs Mensa disclosed this in her presentation to Parliament’s Committee of the Whole, in Accra, on Tuesday.
“It has been argued that this number is not significant, but we refute that argument and state that one person unqualified on our roll is one too many.”
The Chairperson was at the Committee’s sitting to brief the House on the Draft Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2023.
Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, Executive Secretary of National Identification Authority (NIA), was also present to brief the House on the status of the ECOWAS Identification Card (Ghana Card) Registration.
She said the CI before Parliament was seeking to promote the continuous registration of voters and advocates for an all year- round registration of eligible voters at the district offices of the EC.
She noted that the CI was a clear departure from the previous system where voters registration was done for a limited period.
“Like its name, under the Limited Voters Registration Exercise, the registration of new voters was only done for a limited period. It was not all year round. As such, persons who turned 18 years old after that period as well as persons who had not previously registered to vote, could not do so when the time set aside for the registration, usually three to four weeks, elapsed.”
Mrs Mensa said under this new proposal, anyone who was eligible to vote could simply walk into any of the District Offices of the Commission in the District where he/she intended to vote and register to be able to do so.
She explained that this was a far departure from the previous Limited Registration Exercise, where a person who could not register had to wait for the next round of the Limited Registration Exercise before he/she could register.
She said the main advantage of the continuous registration was that potential voters could register at any time of their choosing once the exercise began; adding that interested persons who had not previously registered and qualified to vote would be able to register at their leisure and with ease because it would be an all-year round activity.
The Chairperson said applicants would not be confronted with long queues, frustrated crowds and conflicts, which had the potential to lead to violence.
“We are equally confident that the continuous registration will minimise the bussing of prospective applicants to the registration centres and thereby lead to an orderly, conflict-free process,” she said.
Mrs Mensa again reiterated that the use of the Ghana Card as the sole means of identification would ensure and guarantee the integrity of the Electoral Register, prevent the enrolment of minors and foreigners on the Register and also eliminate the guarantor system, which was prone to abuse.
The Chairperson said by using the Ghana Card as the main source of identification, the EC would be conforming to Regulation 7 (1) of the Legal Instrument (LI) passed by Parliament; that’s the National Identity Register Regulations (LI) 2111, which states that the National Identity Card shall be used for a number of transactions where it was required – including the Voter’s Register.
She said to enhance the transparency of the registration process, political parties might have their agents at the registration centre; stating that additionally, the Commission would regularly update the political parties on the number of registrants at each district office of the EC.
GNA