Parliament of Ghana
Story by: Ishmael Barfi
As well-meaning Ghanaians are calling on the Parliament of Ghana to reject the Electoral Commission’s intention to scrap the ‘guarantor system’ in the Constitutional Instrument (C.I), Third Force Alliance, a Coalition of Political Parties has added their voice to the calls.
Addressing a press in Accra on 16th March 2023 to state their stand on the proposed C.I, the National Communications Secretary of the People National Convention (PNC) Awudu Ishaq who read the statement indicated that, after carefully studying the various provisions and contents of the said Constitutional Instrument, Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Instrument, 2022, the Parliament of Ghana must reject it and should not allow the C. I to mature, hence becoming Law.
To them, “the Constitutional Instrument is not only obnoxious and unconstitutional, but it is inimical to the tenets of participatory democracy in a country like Ghana”.
The Constitutional Instrument (C.I) seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole document for proof of one’s citizenship for registration of voters.
In furtherance, the Coalition he revealed observed with nostalgia the spirited attempts by the Electoral Commission to push and railroad the Constitutional Instrument through the process, despite the numerous calls by well-meaning Ghanaians and identifiable stakeholders re-look at the C.I. since it would undermine the democracy of the country.
Some members of the Third Force Alliance @the Presser
Adding that, “it is important for Ghanaians to further note that the C.I will lead to the disenfranchisement of millions of Ghanaians should it be allowed to stand in its current form”.
Referring to the 1992 Constitution, Mr. Awudu Ishaq stated that Article 42 of the Constitution guarantees every Ghanaian citizen who is eighteen years and above and of sound mind, the inalienable right to register and vote in public elections and referenda.
The Constitution he said further enjoins the Electoral Commission in Article 45 to undertake programs for the expansion of the registration of voters, and not to limit or restrict the registration of voters as the Electoral Commission is seeking to do through this absurd
The Constitutional Instrument (C.I):
According to the Third Force Alliance, teething challenges that continue to bedevil the Ghana Card Registration process make the newly proposed Constitutional Instrument even more objectionable and need to be ousted.
Apart from logistical and network concerns, the Alliance noted that the operations of the National Identification Authority (N.I.A) have been hindered and frustrated due to financial constraints.
“These financial challenges, as disclosed by the NIA itself have led to 3.5 million blank cards being locked up in a bonded warehouse due to its indebtedness to its private partner, Identity Management System (IMS), while another 645,663 cards are yet to be issued to Ghanaians who have completed their registrations”, he asserted.
Adding that about 631,847 cards have not been printed, while an estimated 2.5 million Ghanaians are yet to be registered in the first place.
Interestingly, apart from these impediments in acquiring the Ghana Card, the Electoral Commission is proposing to completely abandon its guarantor system which has been integrated into L.I 2111(2012), the very law regulating the issuance of the Ghana Card.
Present at the press briefing were representatives from the Peoples’ National Convention (PNC), Progressive people’s Party (PPP), and Ghana Union Movement (GUM), and the CPP made the call at a press conference in Accra to announce their stand on the CI.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
