New C.I. will make voter registration an all year round activity – EC Chair

Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), has justified her outfit’s attempt to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for voter registration ahead of the 2024 polls.

Briefing Parliament on the proposed constitutional instrument for the next general elections, Madam Jean Mensa said the C.I. seeks to promote continuous registration of voters and will allow for an all-year-round registration of eligible voters at its district offices.

“Under the limited voters’ registration process, registration was conducted at limited periods and was not done all year round. This made it such that, persons who turned 18 after the registration period could not do so after the time set for the limited registration, which usually within 2–3 weeks.”

“Under the new C.I., anyone who turns 18 can simply walk into any of our district offices and register to vote. This is a departure from the previous one. The main advantage of this is that potential voters can register anytime any day. Eligible persons will be at liberty to do it at their leisure because it will be an all-year-round activity.”

She also said this will reduce the usual pressure at registration centres, “thereby reducing the likelihood of conflicts whatsoever.”

“It will prevent minors and foreigners from voting and will take away the guarantor system,” she added.

The draft constitutional instrument entitled: Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2021 has sparked controversy, especially the section that sought to make the Ghana Card the sole form of identification for eligible voters who wanted to get onto the national register.