EC Ditches Ghana Card, Indelible Ink Stays for voter Registration

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has reversed its earlier decision to exclusively use the Ghana card for voter registration in the upcoming limited registration exercise ahead of the December 7 general elections.

This change comes after the EC decided not to introduce a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) to Parliament.

“The Commission would not introduce new Constitutional Instruments (C.I.s) ahead of the Voter Registration Exercise and the General Elections. The existing C.I.s will remain in force,” the Commission noted in a joint statement it issued with representatives of the various political parties at the March 7 Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting.

The existing C.I. 126, ratified before the 2020 General Election, will continue to recognize the passport and guarantor system as valid methods for new registrants to confirm their Ghanaian identity. Indelible ink will also remain as part of the process to identify voters during the elections.

 

At the March 7 Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting, which was attended by representatives from major political parties including the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), and the Progressive People’s Party, along with other stakeholders like democratic institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), faith-based organizations, and development partners, the decision was made not to introduce new C.I.s for the upcoming elections.

The focus of the meeting was primarily on the electoral calendar presented by the EC to the major parties.

Although the EC did not speak to the press after the meeting, representatives from the political parties acknowledged the key points that were agreed upon.

“Very cordial, with a lot of agreements reached. The chairperson made statements on a number of issues that we have been arguing about for some time now,” NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, Omane Boamah, underscored.

“The EC Chairperson said the guarantor system will be used for the limited registration ahead of the December 7 elections, and this is good because it is backed by data that many people still used that system for registration in 2020,” he added.

Omane Boamah, the NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, described the meeting as very cordial with numerous agreements reached. He highlighted that the EC Chairperson confirmed the use of the guarantor system for the limited registration before the December 7 elections, citing data that showed many people used this system for registration in 2020.

Evans Nimako, Director of Research and Elections for the NPP, echoed Boamah’s statements, clarifying that the EC had informed political parties they would not submit a new CI to Parliament for this year’s elections.

This means the use of indelible ink will continue, the election date remains unchanged, and the guarantor system will be in place.

Nimako, however, emphasized that the NPP would not support situations where stakeholders act as guarantors for minors and non-citizens on the electoral roll.

He explained that this was the reason the NPP initially supported the idea of using the Ghana Card exclusively.

The EC has now scheduled the limited registration exercise to take place from Tuesday, May 7 to Monday, May 27, 2024, lasting for 21 days.