Electoral Commission Confident Ghana Card Will Eliminate Voter Conflicts

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is optimistic that adopting the Ghana Card as the sole identification for future elections will prevent the confrontations seen during the recent voter transfer exercise. This exercise witnessed several incidents of confusion and violence, especially in Weija, where the son of the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, was injured.

Addressing the media after a meeting with Civil Society Organisations, the Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa, expressed hope that Parliament will recognise the necessity of passing a bill to make the Ghana Card the sole requirement for voter registration. The Commission engaged with over 50 civil society organizations to ensure peaceful elections in the upcoming general elections.

Mensa expressed satisfaction with the contributions from the CSOs and emphasized the importance of Parliament acknowledging the need to use the Ghana Card exclusively to avoid conflicts like those recorded in the recent vote transfer exercise. The EC believes this change will lead to more orderly and conflict-free voter registration processes, ensuring a more peaceful and credible election.

“We have just concluded, as I mentioned, the transfer of votes exercise, and it also went very well. We did observe some unrest and conflicts in some of the centres. Thankfully, no lives were lost. We hope that the conflicts around the guarantor system, which lead to parties challenging their opponents, can be avoided when the Ghana Card is the sole identification document,” Mensa said.

“Hopefully, Parliament will agree with the EC’s proposal to make the Ghana Card the sole document for identification after 2024," she added.

Meanwhile, Albert Kofi Arhin, National Coordinator of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), urged the Electoral Commission to intensify efforts in promoting peace ahead of the elections, highlighting the high tensions and desperation among the populace.

“If the EC has now opened its doors to everybody, especially with the CSOs, we are going to tell the story together with the EC, and we need to educate the people. I feel that we need to be very careful this year because of the nature of the election that we are going to have,” Arhin stated.

“Tensions are very high, the economic situation in the country is sometimes dicey, and people are desperate, so we need to educate the people about peace,” he urged.

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