It will be a travesty to use Ghana Card as the sole document for voter registration – Martin Kpebu

Renowned lawyer, Martin Kpebu, has added his voice to the list of Ghanaians who have denounced the EC’s intent to use the Ghana Card as the only document required for the continuous registration exercise it is to embark on.

The lawyer argues that the use of the Ghana Card is illegal because not every Ghanaian has it and using it will lead to a lot of eligible voters being disenfranchised by the EC (Electoral Commission of Ghana), contrary to the laws of the country, citinewroom.com reports.

Kpebu suggested that Ghana’s National Identification Card (the Ghana Card) can be used as the sole document needed for one to get into the voters’ register if the registration for the Ghana Card has been done for an extended period and every Ghanaian can easily acquire it.

“Perhaps we can roll out a programme, maybe over 10 years, but today to make a law… it is a farce. It is just not possible,” the lawyer is quoted to have said on The Big Issue.

Also, Kpebu advised that the EC should allow family members and public officials to serve as guarantors for eligible Ghanaians who do not have the Ghana Card, as it has done for previous voter registration exercises.

“This guarantee system has worked and worked overtime… the guarantee system has never been a major national issue,” he said.

Aside from Lawyer Kpebu, the former Chairman of the EC, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has stated that the use of the Ghana Card as the only identification for voter registration is against electoral inclusivity, fairness, and justice.

Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, who was speaking on the new C.I before parliament, which is seeking to use the Ghana Card only for voters’ registration, asked why the EC will make the Ghana Card the only means of identification for purposes of establishing eligibility to vote.

The new CI which is titled Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2021, laid in Parliament, aims to continuously register Ghanaians who turn 18 using only the Ghana Card as the required document for the exercise.

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Another key proposal in the bill is the creation of two voter registers, namely the electoral area register and the constituency register.