Electoral Commission Explains Why It Aborted Decision To Eliminate Guarantor System

• The Electoral Commission has been explaining why it decided to allow the use of the guarantor system after proposing its elimination
• The EC says it had failed to gain the needed consensus from the political parties and the general public hence its U-turn
• The EC is however hopeful consensus will be achieved in the future

The Electoral Commission (EC) says its decision to abort its plans to use the Ghana Card as the sole identification document for the upcoming December 7 elections is due to a lack of consensus on the matter.

The EC had earlier attempted to eliminate the guarantor system as a valid means to prove citizenship for new voters.

According to the EC, the guarantor system was prone to being abused and could contribute to the registration of underage voters.

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However, their concerns had not gained traction as their proposed constitutional instrument had faced stiff opposition from the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Caucus in parliament.

NDC opposes use of Ghana Card as sole ID document for voter registration

The NDC’s argument was largely based on the challenges the National Identification Authority had been facing in issuing Ghana cards to those who had successfully registered.

Also, they had raised concerns about the fact that the Ghana card registration was not well decentralised and thus some persons could not access the centres to be registered.

They had argued that should the EC go ahead and make the Ghana card the sole identification document for the voter registration, it would lead to the disenfranchisement of many young Ghanaians.

Following the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on March 7, the EC decided to abort its plans.

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The EC’s Director of Electoral Services, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, says while the EC still hopes to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for voter registration, it will only do so when there is consensus on the matter.

He says when Ghanaians are satisfied with the Ghana card and many have been issued their cards, the proposal will be sent back to parliament.

"So for 2024, it will not [be used] but it is not dead," he said.

EC makes U-turn on decision to eliminate indelible ink in elections

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the Electoral Commission (EC) has made a U-turn on its decision to stop the use of indelible ink in elections.

Deputy EC Chairman in charge of Corporate Services Eric Asare Bossman revealed this change in policy.

Bossman said the commission took into account the concerns raised by the general public.

Source: YEN.com.gh