The guarantor method, which required new registrants without the Ghana Card to give two Ghana Card holders as guarantors for their Voter's ID card, has been repealed by the Electoral Commission (EC).
This is a part of the extensive changes the commission is doing to safeguard the accuracy of the voter list and the ID card.
At the EC's "Let the Citizen Know" meeting, Samuel Tettey, the Deputy Chairperson of the EC in Charge of Operations, informed the media of this.
After the maturity of the Constitutional Instrument, which has not yet been brought before Parliament, the abolishment will go into force. The Instrument aims to make the Ghana Card the only valid form of identification required to get a voter ID card.
He stated that the guarantor system is riddled with difficulties and is no longer capable of offering a safe method of voter registration for the nation.
New Register
The Electoral Commission, according to Mr. Tettey, is instead conducting a continuous registration with the objective of capturing between 450,000 and 550,000 potential registrants yearly. He denied accusations that the commission was planning to create a new register.
"We won't create a fresh voter registration list. To guarantee that everyone who wishes to register as a voter gets the chance to do so, we would instead constantly register voters and update the existing voters' register.
"Unlike the last registration process, this registration activity will be ongoing. Anyone with the card may thus register by simply walking over to our offices. No one who does not have a Ghana Card at the time of the limited exercise would be denied the right to vote in this periodic or limited registration activity.
This procedure lasts the entire year. As a result, someone who doesn't currently have a Ghana Card may get one tomorrow and then just stroll into a district office to register to vote, according to him.
Rumors that Ghanaians will cast ballots via the Ghana Card in 2024 were refuted by Mr. Tettey as well.
"The card is only necessary for people who have never registered to vote before to register to vote. You will receive a voter identity card bearing the features of the EC, such as the code of your region, district, electoral area, and polling place, once you submit your Ghana Card and successfully register to vote.
"We expect all the participants in the electoral process, including political parties, to encourage everyone who does not currently possess a Ghana Card to go to the National Identification Authority's offices and apply for a Ghana Card. Following this, they can register with the Electoral Commission to vote in the 2023 District Assembly Elections and the 2024 General Elections by doing the same," he said.
To make it easier for potential voters to register to vote, he encouraged the National Identification Authority (NIA) to manufacture Ghana Cards more quickly.