The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensah, has said that the drafted constitutional instrument before Parliament for approval does not include the guarantor system because it paves the way for corrupt practices but not deny some Ghanaians from voting.
According to her, the elimination of the guarantor system for voter registration is to prevent foreigners from registering and participating in the 2024 elections.
Jean Mensah stated that the best way to get a credible and transparent register is by using the Ghana card as the sole document for the registration.
In an interview with the media on August 17, 2023, the chairperson of the electoral commission said that the motive behind the removal of the guarantor system is not to disenfranchise anyone but to have a trustworthy register for the 2024 general elections.
“So we are saying that we have evolved our mandate and our desire is to ensure that the register is credible. And by so doing, the intention is not to disenfranchise anybody. Having a credible register of persons who qualify, only eligible Ghanaians is not to disenfranchise anybody.
“Who we are preventing are foreigners and minors, and they do not qualify. And so we intend to maintain the draft CI. The whole idea is to get NIA to start its work, and then we can lay the CI before parliament,” she told GhanaWeb TV.
Jean Mensah highlighted the loopholes in the guarantor system that has informed their decision to discard it this time around.
“However, with the draft CI, that is before parliament, we do not intend to put back the Guarantor system because we do not believe that the Guarantor system has augured well for us. 30 years ago, when we took this journey and we did not have a Ghana card, it was only proper that we adopt a system that would ensure that people who didn't have any documentation could come on board. 30 years on, as an evolving democracy, we now have the Ghana card, and we are saying that we must rely on it by the very laws that parliament made.
“We noted that in 2020, the persons who qualified to vote around the country challenged some 40,000 minors and foreigners. And it took a lot of effort, time, and money to expound some 15,000 minors and foreigners from their role. And this is one too many. Can you imagine these minors and foreigners shaping the destiny of this country?” she added.
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