The Electoral Commission of Ghana has withdrawn its proposals to eliminate the guarantor system and use the Ghana card as the only identity card for the 2024 general elections. This decision was made after an Interparty Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on March 7, 2024.
During a media briefing, Former Communication Minister, Dr. Omane Boamah, stated that the Electoral Commission has suspended plans to eliminate the guarantor system and the use of indelible ink in the 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections.
“Officially, she (Jean Mensah) placed before all the political parties present that in the 2024 elections, indelible ink would be used. She further stated that ahead of the elections the registrations that we are going to have, the guarantor system will stay because that has been a concern we (NDC) have been raising,” he said.
He also disclosed that no new Constitutional Instrument (CI) will be introduced to govern the upcoming elections.
Join our WhatsApp Channel for more news
“Beyond that is also a firm assurance that there will be no new CI to govern the 2024 elections. What that means is that we are going with the CI 127 that we all know. Ghana card will be used as part of the documents, identifiers, but Ghana card will not be the sole identifier,” he added.
Additionally, the Electoral Commission has agreed to extend voter registration venues beyond district offices to electoral areas deemed hard to reach.
The Electoral Commission has proposed several measures to improve the electoral process in Ghana. These measures include using only the Ghana card as the identity card for voter registration and implementing a new CI for elections. Furthermore, the EC has argued that the current biometric system is strong enough to ensure the credibility of the elections, and therefore, the use of indelible ink should be discontinued.
However, the major opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has boycotted the proposed changes and intermittently has received support from the ruling party. This has led to the current outcome, with which the NDC has expressed satisfaction.
