Should the Electoral Commission (EC) insist on using the Ghana Card as the only form of identification for voter registration, Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of IMANI-AAfrica, worries that some Ghanaians would lose their right to vote.
He contends that certain persons cannot be held accountable for not having a Ghana Card.
He asserted that the EC must enable voters who lack the Ghana Card to cast ballots using other legally recognized forms of identification.
"It appears that if a person does not have a Ghana card, they would lose their right to vote." If a person does not have a Ghana card, they will lose their right to vote.
"It is not their fault that they do not have the Ghana card." You've heard how many cards are being held hostage in some warehouse," he continued.
During JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, Mr. Bentil remarked that the legislation has established a necessary need for voting.
He clarified that although the Ghana card does not satisfy the fundamental requirement, individuals should not be prevented from casting a ballot if they do not have a card.
Mr. Bentil foresaw some months ago that individuals would file a lawsuit against the EC if they were denied the right to vote because they lacked the Ghana card.
He also said that if someone chose to sue the electoral body, they would lose.
On Tuesday, February 28, the Chairman of the EC, Jean Mensa, addressed Parliament to address concerns over the Ghana Card.
The Ghana Card, according to her, would serve as an identity card to register eligible voters but wouldn't be necessary to cast a ballot.
According to Mrs. Mensa, those who were successful in registering with the Ghana Card would be granted a voter identity card, which would then be used to cast a ballot.
The 2024 elections won't allow the use of the Ghana Card for voting. The Ghana Card is merely a necessary piece of identification to register to vote. A voter identity card bearing your region's code will be given to you if you successfully register to vote using your card.
Because the card lacks these qualities, it won't be possible to use it to cast a ballot in the general election of 2024, she explained.
The minority caucus in Parliament, meanwhile, rejected the strategy.
They contend that because not everyone has access to the Ghana Card, it cannot be the only document needed to register voters.
The majority of Ghana's 17 million citizens, according to the National Identification Authority (NIA), have received the Ghana Card, and the remaining 5 million might receive one over the next six months.
Since then, experts have urged the use of additional authorized papers since some have questioned the likelihood that everyone would be served prior to the election.
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