The Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, has expressed concern over the Electoral Commission’s delay in disclosing the Electoral Calendar, with only 298 days remaining until the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Dr. Boamah called on the Commission to release the calendar and shares his concern on the matter through a post on his X platform.
In a related development, the NDC’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, declared the party’s opposition to the Electoral Commission’s insistence on using the Ghana Card as the sole identification document for voter registration in the 2024 general elections.
Mahama conveys this stance to the Volta Region caucus of the NDC, emphasizing their readiness to resist such a decision.
The Electoral Commission defends the use of Ghana Cards, citing it as an effective means to address longstanding issues like minors and foreigners on the voter register.
298 Days to the December 07 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, yet the Electoral Commission has still not disclosed the Electoral Calendar. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/OxrpMgJwSo
— Dr. Omane Boamah (@eomaneboamah) February 13, 2024
Director of Electoral Services Dr. Serebour Quaicoe asserts that despite opposition, the Commission is convinced that utilizing Ghana Cards will significantly reduce the registration of minors and foreigners.
Dr. Quaicoe highlights the card’s inclusion of date of birth and citizenship information as crucial in tackling these issues.
“The NDC will offer the stiffest opposition to the Electoral Commission if it insists on the Ghana card as the sole form of identity in the registration of eligible voters,” he said.
“But how do we address the issue of registration of minors and the registration of foreigners?” he sought.
“The Electoral Commission thinks that one way of addressing the issue is to use the Ghana Card,” he stressed.
“There has been a lot of arguments and we are still battling it out and we are still insistent that let us use the Ghana Card so that it will address the issue of minors – because your date of birth is on the Card – and the citizenship, which is also on the Card.
“That is also a way to reduce drastically the registration of minors and foreigners.”