Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, has defended the Commission’s proposed constitutional instrument (CI) to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for voter registration.
She stated that the move is not intended to disenfranchise Ghanaians but rather to ensure the integrity of the electoral roll.
Mensa clarified that the Electoral Commission is not interested in retaining the guarantor system, which allows individuals without proper identification documents to register with the endorsement of a guarantor. Instead, the Commission aims to adopt the Ghana Card as the primary identification document for voting.
The proposed CI is currently before the Ghanaian Parliament and has sparked discussions about its implications for voter participation. Mensa emphasized that the move is driven by the Commission’s commitment to conducting credible and transparent elections. She pointed out that during the 2020 registration exercise, flaws were identified, including minors and foreigners registering with the guarantor system. To address this issue, the Electoral Commission had to establish District Registration Review Committees to remove ineligible individuals from the voter roll.
The adoption of the Ghana Card as the sole voter registration document is seen by the Commission as a way to prevent such issues in the future and maintain the accuracy and integrity of the electoral roll. Critics, however, have expressed concerns about potential exclusion of eligible voters who may not possess the Ghana Card.