By Isaac Newton Tetteh
Tema, Aug. 18, GNA – The People’s National Convention (PNC) supports the Electoral Commission (EC) draft Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) Public Regulations 2021 to regulate continuous voter registration and make the Ghana Card the sole identification medium for eligible voters who want to get onto the electoral roll.
Ms Janet Asana Nabla, PNC General Secretary described the draft CI as in conformity with the national policy merging all identification cards including, bank, SSNIT, and Sim Cards among others to the Ghana Card the EC was doing the same.
“It should be noted that new young people coming in have over two years to acquire their Ghana Cards and register to vote. The age for the acquisition of the Ghana card is 16, whilst that for voter registration is 18 giving a whole two-year margin for new voters to acquire a Ghana Card,” Ms. Nabla stated at a press conference in Accra.
Ms Nabla said the press conference was to set the record straight on matters of registration of qualified Ghanaians onto the electoral register and the position of the PNC amid a categorical attempt by some people to again, create tension over unambiguous electoral laws and some CIs enacted over the years.
The PNC General Secretary noted that “the EC used Ghana Card, Passport, and two guarantors in the absence of the other IDs for the 2020 election. That register remains valid. What is upcoming is continuous registration. The EC has not said it is conducting a new registration exercise.
“The EC has assessed and come to a conclusion most potential new voters will have the Ghana Card thereby eliminating the need for calling for either of the previously used multiple identities. Moreover, the guaranteed system can easily be abused in border areas.”
According to the PNC the register would be that closed in October 2024, so no one will be disenfranchised, “we should also note that one does not need an ID to vote. That is the beauty of biometric registration. Your best ID is your biodata.”
Ms Nabla stressed that there would also be no new mass reregistration as was done previously, “there is no fear that a current voter who does not have a Ghana card will be taken off the voter list. In other words, there is no fear of disenfranchisement if the person is already on the register.”
She said there are no inhibitions or any reason that prevents any citizen who is eligible to vote from securing a Ghana Card between now and October 2024 to register on the electoral roll.
Ms Nabla reiterated that the PNC supports the use of the Ghana Card as the sole or breeder document for purposes of registering citizens into the electoral roll.
GNA