Before the December 19 District Level Elections, new voters will be added to the electoral record by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) between Tuesday, September 12, 2023, and Sunday, October 2, 2023.
In contrast to the previous method, which involved restricted registration exercises being completed at the polls, the Exercise, which is in conformity with Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution, will take place at the 268 District Offices of the Commission.
Ghanaians who have reached the voting age of 18 since the last registration in 2020 and those who are older than 18 but were unable to register during the last registration process will have the opportunity to do so during the 21-day period.
The European Commission (EC) announced that it will use the current Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2016 (C.I. 91) (1) as Amended, for the upcoming registration exercise after the Parliament rejected the EC’s drafted Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) in April of this year.
The draught C.I., which was rejected by Parliament, called for a continuous voter registration drive and proposed using the Ghana card as the only form of identity to show citizenship.
Because C.I. 91 will be used for the next voter registration drive, qualified voters can prove their Ghanaian citizenship using either the Ghana Card or the Ghana Passport.
Applicants would need to provide two persons who are already registered voters to vouch for them in the absence of the two identity papers.
The Deputy Chair for Corporate Services at the EC, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare, stated in an interview that the Commission was prepared for the exercise.
According to the Commission’s estimates, not every person who turned 18 after the previous registration drive in 2020 would really register because of either personal factors or unavailability.
Since voting is not required in Ghana, many of the estimated 1,350,000 voters may have travelled or gone on to other endeavours even outside the nation. Carried Interest 67.33M “Nationwide, we are looking at an estimate of 1,350,000.
“So, the Commission is looking at about 800,000 registrants in 268 locations for the registration,” Dr Asare said.
The EC’s decision to hold the restricted voter registration operation in its district offices rather than within electoral zones as it had in past exercises has drawn criticism from several political parties, notably the National Democratic Congress. The parties voiced concern that new voters in rural areas who would not be able to go to the district offices might lose their right to vote.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the All People’s Congress (APC), the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), and the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP) filed a lawsuit against the EC in the Supreme Court, asking the high court to enjoin the commission from conducting registrations in locations other than its district offices.
The stated restricted voter registration effort will begin on Tuesday as planned since an application for an interlocutory injunction to stop the EC from carrying it out failed to materialise.
According to Dr. Asare, the EC understands the worries regarding the accessibility of its offices in some isolated villages, but owing to time limitations, it is unable to change its plans.
According to him, those who “in the unlikely event” were unable to register will have another chance to do so during the District Assembly Elections.
“Currently because of the time, we cannot revise what we have. We recognise the challenges. We know there are some places in Nkwanta South, Afram Plains and in all the regions of our country, some of the places are so far away from the districts.
“In the unlikely event that people are not able to register, we will still be able to do it again after the District Assembly Elections,” he said.
17.2 million new voters were added to the electoral record as a result of the EC’s most recent voter registration drive ahead of the 2020 general elections.
The EC wants to make the process of registering new voters continuous, which would allow anybody who turns 18 to stroll into any District Office of the Commission and register to vote.
But that window wouldn’t open until the planned C.I., which Parliament previously rejected, was resubmitted and accepted.
