EC Responds To Critics: We Won’t Disenfranchise Any Ghanaian

The Electoral Commission (EC) has defended its decision to use only the Ghana Card for the voter registration exercise, saying it is still valid and the surest way to rid the register of minors and foreigners.

Speaking on “Maakye” Morning Show on Ahenkan 93.3 FM monitored by MyGhanaMedia.com, Electoral Commission’s Director of Operations, Dr Serebour Quaicoe assured that no Ghanaian of voting age and willing to secure a voter’s ID will be left behind.

“By the discussions that we have, we are convinced that anybody that is qualified to register and is willing to register will be covered,” Dr. Quaicoe said.

According to Dr. Quaicoe , it is possible for eligible voters to get their Ghana Cards before the end of their registration on October 7, 2024.

Dr Serebour Quaicoe is confident that barring any unforeseen circumstances, every qualified voter can get their identity cards to be fully registered for the 2024 general elections within the next two years.

He believes no one would be disenfranchised because all Ghanaians have enough time to access the Ghana Card.

“Our decision is based on the assumption that by the time we close registration on the 7th of October 2024, any eligible voter would have registered so that one is still valid.

“The NIA has given us all the assurances that now that they have rolled out 291 registration centres, and we are also going to roll out 267 registration centres, the people will have their names on the Ghana Card.

“All the challenges will be rectified. They will get the card, they will come to our offices to register. Let’s throw this challenge; we have more than two years, and let’s give ourselves the end of 2023.

“If genuinely there are people who are not getting the card, then we can now be arguing the argument you are putting across,”

The EC is pushing a law expected to make the Ghana card the only identity document for registering to vote.

There is a draft C.I. titled: Public Regulations 2021 which is expected to regulate the upcoming continuous voter registration exercise.

The current modes of identification for registering to vote include a passport, a national ID, an existing voter ID or two guarantors.

Though critics are worried that not enough Ghanaians will have access to the Ghana card before the voter registration, Dr. Quaicoe assured that any challenges with the process will be resolved.

“We believe that the challenges are bound to happen, and the challenges are bound to be addressed… There is no way we can stay without addressing the challenges.”

He further added that discussions on the review of the law have been ongoing for about two years.

“It has gone through a lot of discussions, a lot of interactions, a lot of stakeholder engagements before we came to this conclusion.”