Ghana Card: The issue of Ghana's EC Voter ID Card - Nana Kwadwo Akwaa

Franklin Cudjoe is in fact on a goofing spree; another one from him on the Ghana Electoral Commission (EC) Card-Voter ID Card analysis? Sad he has allowed himself to be influenced by the National Democratic Congress's (NDC) jaundiced and mischievous analysis. Sad for him so I am seriously praying for an antidote for him in the soonest.

A small analysis

A. Who can register for an EC Voter ID Card?

Ghanaian of a sound mind, and 18 years and above.

B. Who is a Ghanaian?

i. A person born in or outside Ghana shall become a Ghanaian if either of his parents or grandparents is/was a Ghanaian.

ii. A child of not more than seven years of age found in Ghana whose parents are not known shall be presumed to be Ghanaian.

iii. A child of not more than sixteen years of age neither of whose parents is a Ghanaian who is adopted by a Ghanaian shall be considered as a Ghanaian iv. A woman married to a Ghanaian or vice versa may, upon making an application shall become a Ghanaian.

The above is the summary, for full details, check Article Three (3) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

C. What is/are the dates of issue of the current EC Voter ID Cards being used?

i. Majority: 2012, through a compilation of a totally new EC register for all Ghanaians. This registration covered about 4/5 of the total number of registered voters.

ii. Few: 2016, through a limited registration for those who didn't register during the 2012 EC registration. This registration covered about 1/5 of the total number of registered voters.

D. What was used for acquiring/registering for that of the 2012 and 2016 EC Voter ID cards respectively?

i. 2012 EC Voter ID Card (Major Registration)-majority; Passport, NHIS Card, Birth Certificate, or Authentication/Vouch by Ghanaian(s) that you are a Ghanaian, if you have none of the three cards mentioned above.

ii. 2016 EC Voter ID Card (Limited Registration)- minority; Passport, Birth Certificate, or Authentication/Vouch by Ghanaian(s) if you have none of the two documents mentioned above.

D. Why did the 2016 EC limited registration not allow the use of NHIS card for registration as it did for the 2012 EC Voter ID Card registration?

NHIS card was found to be a Non-Ghana card, and as a result was also being held by lots of Non-Ghanaians, so its use would result in some Non-Ghanaians entering the EC register, and through that will allow some Non-Ghanaians to get hold of a Ghana Voter ID card.

E. Why did Parliament find the current Ghana EC Voter ID Card not to be credible to use as a confirmation as a Ghanaian.

A verdict by the Supreme Court (SC) through the 2012 election petition and the 2016 Abu Ramadan EC Voter ID card Supreme Court case endorsed that there were lots of Non-Ghanaians in the EC register due to the previous allowance by the EC for the use of the NHIS card for registration, and as a result got lots of Non-Ghanaians to have in their possession Ghana EC Voter ID cards. This as result got the SC to call for the removal from the EC Voter register of all those who used the NHIS card for registering during the 2012 EC Voter registration, but we all still remember, and are also very much aware of how the removal of the NHIS card users from the EC register was incompetently done to the dissatisfaction and amazement of the majority of Ghanaians and political parties in Ghana.

So the simple question then is; why then should we rely on an EC Voter ID card for a confirmation of an individual as a Ghanaian(Ghana Card) when it;

i. relied on Birth Certificate, Passport, or Authentication/Vouch by Ghanaian(s) if you have none of the two documents for its acquisition.

ii. has proven to be partially not credible and fraudulent by the Supreme Court due to the allowance for the use of a Non-Ghana card (NHIS Card) for the registration of individuals onto it.

From the above analysis, it proves it will be terribly wrong for Ghana to allow for the use of an EC voter ID card as a confirmation as a Ghanaian to acquire a Ghana Card when both the COURT OF LAW and the COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION(Public) have no confidence in it, but it will rather be prudent to allow the use of a Passport, Birth Certificate, or an

Authentication/Vouch by Ghanaian(s) if you have none of the two documents mentioned above to acquire a Ghana card, especially when these documentations have the full backing and trust of the law and public.

Thank you

Hhhmm, may God be praised always