Ayariga’s motion to have EC’s new identification requirements rejected

Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye has turned down the request by Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central to have the Electoral Commission’s (EC) move to make the Ghana card and passports the only valid identification for registering to vote, rejected.

The MP had through a Notice of Motion wanted Parliament to reject the Public Election (Registration of Voters) (Amendments) Regulations 2020 (C.I. 126) pursuant to Article 11 (7)(c) of the Constitution.

But the Speaker in a memo to Mr. Ayariga asked him to rather appear before the Subsidiary Legislation Committee and table his concerns before them.

Following this, the MP appeared before the committee earlier on Wednesday.

The electoral body has presented the Public Election (Amendment) regulation, 2020 (C.I. 126) to Parliament to amend C.I 91.

This is to allow an amendment to the current identification requirements which were passed in 2016.

Meanwhile, the committee has voted to give the Constitutional Instrument (C.I. 126) that will give legal backing to the Electoral Commission’s plans to compile a new voter’s register, the green light.

Twenty-21 out of 25 committee members who were present at the meeting voted 12-9 in favour of the controversial C. I., Rasinbowradioonline.com has gathered.

The C.I. 126 seeks to amends the existing electoral regulation C.I. 91 to make Ghana card and passports the only forms of identification one can use to get onto a new voters’ roll.

It will require people without any of the two documents to get two newly registered voters to guarantee for them before they can register.

However, no individual can guarantee for more than ten people.

If approved, other forms of national identification including the existing voter’s ID card, birth certificate among other documents cannot be used in registering for the new voter ID card.