Limited Registration Exercise: EC Has Been Vindicated; Ghana Card Would've Prevented These Violence - Kwamena Duncan
Former Central regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan has stated that the Electoral Commission has been vindicated following the emergence of minors and non-Ghanaians at the ongoing limited voter registration exercise.
The Electoral Commission had been advocating for the use of the Ghana Card as a sole document for identification.
According to the Commission, the aim of using the Ghana Card as the sole document for identification is to help in streamlining the registration process and to minimize disputes as a result of eligibility in terms of age and nationality since the Ghana card clearly shows the age and nationality of the bearer.
The Electoral Commission added that the use of the Ghana Card will help do away with the guarantor system.
However, this advocacy was vehemently kicked against by the major opposition party, National Democratic Congress and some Civil Society Organisations.
In the face of the violence and confusion that has characterised the ongoing registration exercise, Kwamena Duncan posited that, Electoral Commission foresaw that if the Ghana Card is not used, the incidence of violence and confusion will inundate the registration process.
According to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communicator, the lack of cooperation from the NDC led to the withdrawal of the advocacy being championed by the Electoral Commission.
Speaking on Wednesday’s edition of Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ morning show, Kwamena Duncan said, “The Electoral Commission knows the inside out of the Ghanaian political terrain. In their quest to avoid the incidence of violence and confusion that is why the commission wanted to use the Ghana card as the sole document for identification.”
“The constitution clearly stipulates the conditions needed for one to be a registered voter in Ghana.
“The constitution states in Article 46 that the person should be a Ghanaian, and should be 18 years and above and of sound mind. That is what the constitution says. It is for this reason that the EC decided to use the Ghana card to get the right data. If we want to have a clean register, then this is the way to go but it was fought against by the NDC. We are now back to the use of the old system where a guarantor has to guarantee for someone.”
“The confusion and conflict happening now is clear indication that the commission has been vindicated.”
The assertion by the Mr. Duncan is in consonant with the observation made by the Electoral Commission as reasons for the violence and attacks at the registration centres.
Deputy Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare stated that, “we have also noticed that some of the disturbances occurring at some of our registration centres are due to the fact that some people are doubting the ages of some of the applicants.”
