NDC Minority to hold a public forum on CI on Voter Register

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority Caucus will in the coming days collaborate with the Party to hold a major public forum on the draft Constitutional Instrument (CI) Public Election (Registration Voters) Regulations, 2022.

Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority Leader, addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps, explained that the forum would sensitize Ghanaians on the draft CI.

The draft CI, which the Electoral Commission (EC) is seeking to lay before Parliament will make the Ghana Card (ECOWAS Card) the sole identification document for voter registration.

According to the electoral body, the Ghana card was not a Voter Identity Card substitute but only a requirement to register as a voter.

Dr Forson said: “Given the critical nature of the issue at stake, and the potential of this CI, to undermine our democracy and thereby disturb the peace and security of the country.”

“The Minority group will in the coming days be engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including our development partners, faith-based organisations, traditional authorities and civil society organisations to get them to appreciate the issues at stake and the consequences this bodes for Ghana’s democracy and stability.”

The Minority Leader called on the EC to halt the attempt of introducing the draft CI before it disenfranchised many eligible Ghanaian voters.

“Clearly, the proposed CI which makes the Ghana Card the sole requirement for the voter registration serves as a restraint on citizen’s right to register and exercise their franchise in elections,” he said.

He said what the EC was seeking to lay in Parliament could cost the country profound consequences in the upcoming 2024 election.

He told the press that, the engagement, Parliament had with the EC and National Identification Authority (NIA) at the Committee of the Whole Meeting revealed that, many Ghanaians were yet to be issued the Ghana card.