Mahama Ayariga, a member of parliament representing Bawku Central, has made an impassioned plea to the Election Commission (EC) to think twice before implementing its Constitutional Instrument (CI).
The National Identity Card (Ghana Card), as a result of this instrument, will be the only document required for voter registration.
He claimed there were alternative methods to verify the guarantor system without getting rid of it, even though the EC had stated that it was porous and needed to be examined. He was speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday.
He pointed out that making the Ghana Card the only needed document would deny voting rights to many qualified voters.
Referring to other options, he said the minority side had proposed tightening the legislation around the guarantor system to match the same tough character of the National Identification Authority (NIA).
"If you think that the guaranteeing system of the NIA is more reliable, can we simply leave it and put in your legislation so that you utilise the same guaranteeing process?" he asked.
The MP claimed that the NIA method also required a guarantor to help with the procedure, making it impossible for him to understand why the EC would pick one over the other.
"Don't bar Ghanaians from using your system and insist that they need a Ghana Card since the guaranteeing mechanism is the reason you are fleeing from it."
"The Ghana Card, on the other hand, also uses the same method in its procedure, so in my opinion, this should put an end to the argument," he said to the host, Samson Lardi Anyenini.
Mr. Ayariga is one of the numerous lawmakers who have urged the EC to cease its work on the CI.
Yet, EC Chair Jean Mensa said in her speech to the Parliament that 40,000 persons had been removed from the guarantor scheme.
She stated that Ghana Card was the best option in this regard to verify all of these deficiencies.
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