The kind of opposition the NDC is giving to the EC’s well-intentioned proposal to rely on only the Ghana Card for those who are yet to register to vote can only be mind-boggling if not absurd.
The Electoral Commission has not stated that a new voters register is being compiled for purposes of future elections. It is only saying that henceforth, only the Ghana Card will be accepted as the identification for one to get registered.
How this is being opposed by the NDC is strange. A critical look at the statistics would show that out of the 30.8 million Ghanaians, 64.6% of the total population are 15 years and above who are eligible to be registered for the Ghana Card. This is 19.9 million of the population.
Out of the 19.9 million people eligible for the Ghana Card, 15.7 million Cards have been issued. The NIA has only 4.2 million people to register out of the 19.9 million population.
It must also be pointed out that 17 million people have been captured by the National Identification Authority. To put it simple, 17 million Ghanaians have registered for the Ghana Card.
Let’s look at how many people are registered to vote per the 2020 registration exercise by the Electoral Commission. Our electoral register has 16.6 million, which is less than the 17 million people who have registered for the Ghana Card.
It cannot be wholly discounted that all those who have registered for the Ghana Card are registered voters. It’d be an error in judgement to assume that since some of those captured by the NIA are less than 18 years.
What cannot be disputed, however, is the fact that there are more people captured by the NIA who are registered voters. This means that only a fraction of those eligible to vote are yet to be registered onto the Ghana Card.
What this means is that, it is just seamless for the NIA to get those few numbers yet to be registered for the Ghana Card onto their platform. The EC will be able to get these people to register in time for the 2024 elections.
It is, therefore, erroneous for the NDC and for that matter, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Djan, to make the claim that millions will be disenfranchised if the EC goes ahead to request for only the Ghana Card as the identification for voters’ registration exercise.
P.K.Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.