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Former President John Mahama has urged the Electoral Commission to allow all eligible first-time voters and voters who have lost their ID cards to participate in the upcoming limited registration process.
The EC has set the commencement date for the exercise as 12 September to 2 October 2023.
The procedure would be conducted throughout the nation’s 268 EC district offices, according to EC Chairperson Jean Mensa.
The Great Consolidated Popular Party, Liberal Party of Ghana, Convention People’s Party, People’s National Congress, All Progressives Congress, National Democratic Party, and the Ghana Freedom Party are just a few of the opposition parties that oppose limiting the exercise to the districts.
In a Facebook Live speech on September 6, 2023, Mr. Mahama joined the chorus and stated: “I wish to add my voice to those who have called on the EC to reconsider its decision to restrict the registration exercise to its district offices only.”
The NDC flagbearer stated that getting a voter ID validates one’s right to vote and that getting one “should be simple and not location-based,” adding that “every Ghanaian deserves the opportunity to exercise their democratic right.”
“We want to know when the names and pictures of the registration supervisors, registration officers, registration assistants, and other officials for the exercises will be published at the district level, as stipulated by the EC regulations,” he said, in accordance with the General Secretary of the NDC’s formal letter to the Commission.
The exact quantity and distribution of workstations, registration kits, and other logistics have also been sought, according to Mr. Mahama.
“I strongly urge the Electoral Commission to facilitate the registration exercise in all electoral areas to allow for easy access and a reduced burden on the citizenry in their quest to register”, Mr Mahama said.
“I challenge the Commission to be transparent with the processes preceding the start of the limited voter registration exercise, the replacement of voter ID cards, and the transfer of votes”, he noted.
“It is also our recommendation that in line with Regulation 2(2b) of C.I. 91, as amended by C.I. 126, the Commission listens to calls for the extension of the exercise to take place in the electoral areas and not be limited to the district offices of the Commission”.
Read some of his post on social media below:
It is not just a basic civic duty to register to vote; it is about your future and that of our country. pic.twitter.com/yI7ir1ZDUy
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) September 6, 2023
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
