Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has raised concerns as to why the minority in parliament is shying away from the use of the Ghana Card when former president John Mahama endorsed it after acquiring one in his home town.
According to the majority leader, John Mahama said he believed in the Ghana card system as it has integrity and can be relied on.
He, therefore, described the Minority opposing to the use of Ghana as the sole documentation for registration as something beyond understanding.
“…after the issuance of the Ghana card to former president John Dramani Mahama, he said today he has seen and he believes that this system has integrity and can be relied on, now you people (NDC) are shying away from it and they are saying that we can’t use it. It is beyond comprehension,” Kyei Mensah Bomsu said.
The Minority in Parliament rejected the justifications given by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) for the new CI seeking to make Ghana card the only identification for voter registration.
Chairperson for the EC, Jean Mensah on Tuesday February 28 2023 told Parliament the new CI is to safeguard the sanctity of the electoral process devoid of foreign interference.
Mrs. Jean Mensah also justified the scrapping of the guarantor system. When questioned about the existence of the same system for Ghana card registration, the EC boss argued that, that system is more robust.
Addressing the media, Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson asked the EC to adopt the NIA system following the claim of the chairperson.
“We are quite sure many of you followed and reported on events in the Chamber last night, which showcased our opposition to an attempt by the Jean Mensah-led Electoral Commission to introduce a Constitutional Instrument before Parliament.
The said C.I, the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Instrument, 2022, seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole document for the registration of voters onto Ghana’s electoral roll.
“What Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution requires, is evidence of citizenship and not evidence or proof of identification. Any evidence of citizenship should therefore qualify a person to be registered. That is why under the current C.I 91 as amended by C.I 126, Ghanaian Passports and guarantor system are allowed as evidence of citizenship,” Mr. Forson stated.