The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced that the 2023 voter registration exercise begins today and ends on Monday, October 2, 2023.
According to the EC, the registration will take place at all the 268 district offices of the Commission.
“Persons who have attained the age of 18 years since the last registration exercise and those who for one reason or the other did not register in 2020, should visit the district office where they reside with either their Ghana Card or their Ghana Passport,”
In a statement signed by the Acting Head of Public Affairs, Michael Boadu, the EC said eligible applicants who do not possess any of the identification documents listed above are required to present two (2) persons who are already registered voters to guarantee their registration.
“The general public is informed that it is a criminal offence for non-Ghanaians (foreigners) and persons who are not 18 years and above (minors) to attempt to register,” the statement indicated.
It said offenders and those who guarantee for them will be liable for prosecution, and added that guarantors, who guarantee for more than the legally mandated number of ten (10) persons will be prosecuted.
“The Electoral Commission encourages all eligible applicants to register and vote in the upcoming District Level Elections,” the statement urged and called on the public to support the exercise.
Existing C.I.
Last month, Chairperson of the EC, Jean Adukwei Mensa, indicated that the Commission would rely on the existing Constitutional Instrument (C.I.), which has inherent issues, to conduct the registration exercise until Parliament approves the draft C.I. that eliminates the guarantor system.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the EC boss stated that relying on the guarantor system to identify who a citizen is was untenable given that Parliament has passed a Legislative Instrument stating that the Ghana Card will be the sole document to be relied on for purposes of identifying a citizen of Ghana.
“This leaves us with no option than to rely on the current C.I. with its inherent challenges to conduct the Voters’ Registration Exercise until such time that National Identification Authority (NIA) would become fully operational,” she noted.
By Ernest Kofi Adu