EC Vows To Make Ghana Card Sole Document For Voter Register: “Only God Can Stop Us”

• The EC says it will never withdraw the constitutional instrument that will make the Ghana Card the only document for voter registration next year
• Dr Bossman Asare, deputy EC Chair, told Joy News on February 28, 2023, that only a force majeure will cause the commission to back down on the plan
• The EC says it wants to limit the imperfections in Ghana's electoral system but the Minority in Parliament and the opposition NDC fear the move will disenfranchise many eligible Ghanaians, especially those in its strongholds

The Electoral Commission (EC) has disclosed that it will not back down from its plan to make the Ghana Card, a biometric ID, the only document that Ghanaians must use for voter registration.

Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission Dr Bossman Asare told Joy News during an interview on February 28, 2023, only a superior power will cause the agency responsible for conducting national elections to shelve the Ghana Card plan.

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"So far the is no evidence to suggest that we are not going to continue with what we are doing, but to say we backing down; unless there is what the lawyers call, force majeure,” he said.

A force majeure is an unexpected event such as war, crime, or earthquake which prevents someone or an entity from doing something that has been agreed to be done.

In other explanations, a force majeure suggests a higher or superior power that prevents someone or an entity from doing something it had agreed to do.

The EC is preparing to lay a constitutional instrument (CI) before Parliament to make the use of the biometric Ghana Card the sole document for eligible Ghanaians to register for the electoral roll.

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The CI has become controversial as the Minority fears it will disenfranchise Ghanaian voters in the next general elections in 2024, especially in areas where the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has many supporters.

Many Ghanaians do not have the Ghana Card because of logistical challenges by the National Identification Authority (NIA), the issuing authority.

The EC has also said the current guarantor system makes it possible for minors and non-Ghanaians to vote.

The CI will be passed into law 21 days after it has been approved and laid in the Legislature.

Minority warns EC’s proposed CI will undermine Ghana’s democracy

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a related story that the Minority in Parliament has warned against the introduction of the EC’s proposed CI on the use of the biometric Ghana Card for the 2024 elections.

Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson insists the CI in its current form will undermine Ghana’s democracy and has vowed to resist it.

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The new CI will see the elimination of the guarantor system for all first-time registrants to the country’s electoral roll.

Source: YEN.com.gh