By Michael Foli Jackidy, GNA
Ho (V/R), June 22, GNA – Care for Free and Fair Elections Ghana (CARE Ghana) has called for the adoption of the Ghana Card as the sole identification document for voting in all public elections and referenda in the country.
The organisation said Ghana should transition from the current voter identification card system to a more efficient, credible, and modern electoral identification framework anchored on the Ghana Card.
In a press statement signed by Mr David Kumi Addo, Executive Director of CARE Ghana copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the organisation said maintaining separate systems for national identification and voter identification had resulted in duplication of resources, administrative inefficiencies, recurring political controversies and significant financial costs to taxpayers.
It said the continued use of the Voter ID Card as a separate voter identification system no longer served the country’s best interests.
The statement noted that the Ghana Card had become Ghana’s most credible and comprehensive national identification document, containing both biometric and demographic data and being linked to multiple national databases.
It said the card was already the primary identification document for banking services, passport acquisition, SIM card registration, taxation, access to social services, and other public transactions.
“There is, therefore, no justification for Ghana to continue investing substantial public resources in maintaining a separate voter identification system,” the statement said.
CARE Ghana argued that making the Ghana Card the sole voting credential would strengthen electoral transparency, reduce opportunities for electoral fraud, and improve public confidence in the electoral process.
It said the reform would also help eliminate the disputes and tensions that often characterised voter registration exercises and the compilation of voter registers ahead of general elections.
The organisation observed that periodic voter registration exercises had become among the most politically contentious activities on Ghana’s electoral calendar, often generating allegations of manipulation, voter suppression, disputes over eligibility requirements and unnecessary political polarisation.
According to CARE Ghana, using the Ghana Card as the sole source document for determining electoral eligibility would significantly minimise such challenges and establish a more objective and verifiable system for voter qualification.
The statement also highlighted the potential financial benefits of the reform, noting that Ghana spent millions of cedis on voter registration exercises, exhibition of voter registers, replacement of voter identification cards and related activities.
It said those resources could instead be redirected towards voter education, electoral technology, election security, and other initiatives aimed at improving democratic governance.
CARE Ghana said the adoption of the Ghana Card would support the creation of a single national database for electoral purposes, thereby enhancing accuracy, consistency and efficiency in voter identification and verification.
It proposed that every Ghanaian citizen who had attained the constitutional voting age and possessed a valid Ghana Card should automatically qualify to vote, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and electoral laws.
The organisation, therefore, called on Parliament, the Electoral Commission, the National Identification Authority, political parties, civil society organisations and other democratic stakeholders to begin a national dialogue on the legislative reforms required to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for voting in Ghana.
It said the proposed reform would strengthen electoral integrity, reduce electoral costs, improve administrative efficiency, and further consolidate Ghana’s democratic gains.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Linda Asante Agyei