Don’t use Ghana card as the sole form of identification for 2024 elections – Afari-Gyan cautions EC

He said the proposal by the EC to register new voters with only the Ghana card will be a recipe for disaster.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr. Afari-Gyan said the move will disenfranchise a lot of Ghanaians.

“Ghanaian citizens don’t lose their citizenship if they are 18 years or older but do not have the Ghana Card.

“So, the moot question is: why make the Ghana Card the only means of identification for purposes of establishing eligibility to register to vote,” he queried.

In July, the EC placed before Parliament a draft C.I titled: Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2021, which is expected to regulate continuous voter registration.

Per the new C.I, the EC is seeking to make the Ghana Card the sole form of identification for eligible voters who want to get onto the electoral roll.

The C.I has been referred to the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament. By convention, the committee is chaired by a member of the Minority group.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare, The Ghana Card will be a requirement for voting in the 2024 election.

Kwadwo Afari-Gyan Pulse Ghana

In an interview with Joy News, the EC official opined that without a Ghana Card, one will not be registered to vote.

He has thus warned prospective voters to obtain their Ghana Cards.

“Commission in collaboration with our partners took the decision that now let us have the Ghana Card as the main requirement.

“So what this means is that as soon as you acquire your Ghana Card with a continuous registration, you just go to our district office where you are located then you go and register and your name will be put on the roll of voters,” he said.

He added that the Electoral Commission has had a series of meetings with the political parties and civil society organisations, and it has been agreed among the parties that the Ghana Card be used as the sole document for voter registration.

“It was agreed that now that the Ghana card has made a lot of impact in our society – as we speak now, almost 17 million Ghanaians have registered for the Ghana card, so, the Commission, in collaboration with our partners, took the decision that: ‘Now, let’s have the Ghana Card as the main requirement,’" Dr Bossman Asare, said.