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No eligible Ghanaian who wishes to register to vote in the general election of 2024 would be denied the right to do so, according to the Electoral Commission (EC) chair Jean Mensa.
She said that the commission had implemented the necessary safeguards to guarantee that all eligible voters were listed on the electoral roll.
“We have heard allegations from various quarters that the commission is seeking to disenfranchise eligible voters,” Mensah said. “This is false; we have no interest in disenfranchising any eligible person.”
The executive director of the EC announced in an interview with the publicly owned Daily Graphic that the commission will implement a nationwide continuous registration drive the next year to make sure that all qualified individuals were registered.
On September 12, the EC began a limited voter registration drive with the goal of registering anyone who had turned 18 since the previous drive.
People who have not previously registered with the commission have the chance to have their names added to the voter list during the 21-day period.
certain members of the public and political parties expressed worry that the EC was trying to purposefully keep certain eligible people from taking part in the registration process.
Six days into the registration period, Mensa reported 182,931 people had signed up at the Let the Citizens Know series on Monday, September 18.
She claimed that the commission had the citizens’ best interests in mind and would not interfere with their ability to exercise their fundamental right to vote.
“We do not intend to disenfranchise eligible voters. It is in our interest to register them all,” Mensa stated.
The EC chairperson stated that against all odds, the commission was able to register 17,027,000 voters in 2020 and would, therefore, not lower the standards.
Touching on concerns raised about the EC’s policy to use its 268 offices for the limited registration exercise, she said the ongoing exercise was only an update of the register.
“It is not a full-blown registration.
It is important to note that this will not be the only registration exercise before the 2024 elections”.
“In line with our plans to promote an inclusive participatory registration process, we plan to institute continuous registration in all our district offices nationwide in 2024 for a considerable length of time,” Mensa reiterated.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
