Making Ghana Card sole voter registration document problematic – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has expressed reservations about the Electoral Commission's (EC) proposal to exclusively use the Ghana Card for voter registration in the 2024 elections.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu cited ongoing challenges in Ghana Card issuance by the National Identification Authority (NIA), emphasising that many eligible voters haven't received the card.

He urged caution, recalling the issues faced during the District Level Elections (DLE) when registration was tied to the Ghana Card.

The Suame MP emphasised the need to ensure every eligible Ghanaian has the card before considering it the sole requirement for voter registration.

"So many people don’t have the Ghana Card and some of the people who have registered to get the card have not been given the card", he told journalists in parliament, adding: "And given the pendency of the District Level Elections (DLE), to have tied registration to the Ghana Card knowing that some of the eligible Ghanaians have not been registered to get the Ghana Cards…to say that you were restricting it to the Ghana Card was going to be problematic.”

He stated, "If they can assure that every eligible Ghanaian will be provided with the Ghana Card, then you can base the registration on the Ghana Card.

"But if you admit that not every eligible Ghanaian has been registered or can be registered, then it becomes difficult to tie the registration solely to the Ghana Card," he stressed.