'GhanaCard as primary document will disenfranchise many' – Aseidu Nketiah to EC

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Aseidu Nketiah, has said the use of GhanaCard as a primary document for the new voter register will disenfranchise others.

This comment by the NDC kingpin comes after the Electoral Commission (EC) stated that despite opposition from some sections of the populace, it will go ahead to use the Ghana Card for the compilation of the new voters’ register.

According to the electoral management body, the Ghana Card is the most authentic means of identifying Ghanaians, and therefore the Commission’s decision to use it in compiling a new database of voters.

The EC’s Director of Operations, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, explained that over the years, voter registration exercises have been marked by pockets of confusion across the country.

He noted, however, that once the Ghana Card is used as the primary source document for collating new voter registers, these challenges will cease.

Meanwhile, the NDC has threatened to use every legal means to prevent the EC from using the Ghana Card to compile a new register.

In an interview with the host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Johnson Aseidu Nketiah mentioned that although the party is not against the use of the Ghana Card in compiling a new database of voters,

He added that what the party is against is the use of the Ghana Card as the sole source of identification for the process at a time when a large number of Ghanaians are yet to acquire their cards.

“The use of GhanaCard as primary document for the new voters register will disenfranchise the majority of Ghanaians who still do not have their Ghana cards through no fault of theirs. We support the idea of using Ghana Card as one of the documents to compile a new voters register. However, since others have not obtained the Ghana Card, there must be another means of identifying such people so that we can include everybody,” Aseidu Nketiah told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.

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