EC must explain to Parliament the processes to create an $80 million voters’ register with Ghana Card only – NDC MPs
The Minority caucus in Parliament wants officials of the Electoral Commission hauled before Parliament next week to explain the process of compiling a new voters’ register with the Ghana Card as identification.
As it stands now, the Subsidiary Legislation Committee is perusing a draft constitutional instrument on the registration of voters.
Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, peaking on the floor of Parliament, said the briefing could help prevent controversy.
“Now that the Subsidiary Legislation Committee is doing what we call pre-laying… [maybe] the EC can appear before us next week before we adjourn so that when it comes and briefs us as a committee of the whole, then we juxtapose the two inputs and be able to see how we can find a way to solve these problems so that when the time comes, we wouldn’t be confronted with some controversial issues,” Mr Ibrahim argued.
But the Ranking Member of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, O.B. Amoah indicated that the committee has begun considering the C.I. and that the EC doesn’t need to be in Parliament now.
“We have almost completed the discussions. Regarding the Ghana card guarantors, we asked the EC to go back and look at it, so I don’t think there is any need to drag them here at this time,” Mr Amoah said.
The Minority has already raised issues with the possibility of a new register on the sole basis of the new Ghana card.
It believes this will be a wasteful expenditure and will disenfranchise a lot of Ghanaians who have not registered or secured their cards yet.
The Minority has said this endeavour will cost about $80 million.
