Jean Mensa
The Electoral Commission (EC) has served notice it will ensure the prosecution of all guarantors who flouted the electoral law in the recently held limited voter registration exercise across the country.
According to the electoral management body, anyone who guaranteed more than 10 applicants would be held accountable for their actions.
Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, Samuel Tetteh, said the EC would also publish the names of all such offenders in national newspapers.
“It is in the interest of the Commission to register every eligible applicant who is a citizen. However, the Commission will not sit aloof to let go offenders who flout its laws,” he stated.
He said the Commission believes that, given Ghana’s current circumstances, the guarantor system has outlived its usefulness and cannot be relied on.
“The first proof of a person’s citizenship in Ghana is the Ghana Card. The use of the guarantor system is fraught with blatant abuse as witnessed in the just-ended voter registration exercise,” Mr. Tetteh intimated.
The Deputy Commissioner said most African countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, and Senegal, no longer use the guarantor system as proof of citizenship.
“If indeed, we are committed to strengthening our electoral processes, then the guarantor system must be abolished sooner than later,” he submitted.
He reiterated the Commission’s call that the government provide the National Identification Authority (NIA) with funding to issue cards for eligible Ghanaians.
“Additionally, we entreat Parliament to approve or pass the C.I. on the registration of voters,” Mr. Tetteh said.
According to him, the Commission abhors the encouragement of minors to register, pointing out that this is a crime.
“It does not augur well for us as a nation,” he said, and urged all citizens and stakeholders to join the Commission to solve this age-long problem.
“The sad fact is that these minors were bused to registration centres by citizens who should know better.
“This is unpardonable, and we once again call on the government to resource the NIA to produce the cards and Parliament to approve the C.I. to enable us to use the Ghana Card as the sole means to identify a person’s citizenship,” he stated.
“In our previous press briefings, we projected videos and photos of minors in queue registering,” he noted.
Mr. Tetteh said the EC projected to register 700,000 out of registrable, eligible voters of 1.35 million based on the 2021 census and figures.
“The [Ghana] Statistical Service projected 450,000 persons turning 18 years in each year for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023,” he disclosed.
The Deputy Commissioner of Operations said the EC did not state that it was going to register 1,350,000 people, stating, “It is not possible to register every single person who turns 18 years for the periods 2021, 2022 and 2023.”
He said they rather projected 52% of the registrable population of 1,350,00 which is 700,000
“Again, as part of our efforts to ensure that every eligible voter gets registered, a directive was issued by the Commission to all its District Officers to issue chits or numbers to all applicants in a queue on or before 5pm,” he posited.
By Ernest Kofi Adu