The new constitutional instrument, CI, being adopted by the electoral commission is receiving a spirited campaign from seven political groups without representation in parliament.
The group contends that there is no need to change the new ci because its primary objective is to stop minors and non-citizens from becoming registered voters
After several weeks of debate, the electoral commission and the national identity authority came before parliament to defend the new constitutional amendment they planned to present to the chamber.
The new ci wants to make the ghana card the only form of identity accepted for voter registration.
However, the minority NDC rejected the proposal, arguing that if passed in its current form, it would deny voting rights to qualified citizens.
They stated that it would be unfair to make the Ghana card the only condition in the voter registration procedure because there is empirical evidence that the national identification authority has difficulties producing it for persons who need it.
Minority parties Ghana Consolidated Popular Party, GCPP, Liberal Party of Ghana, LPG, All People’s Party, APC, People’s National Convention, PNC, National Democratic Party, NDP, Ghana Freedom Party, GFP, and Ghana Union Movement, GUM disagreed, nevertheless.
They argued that there is no need to reevaluate the substance of the ci as it was created as the result of an Inter Party Advisory Committee, IPAC, consensus.
The opposition NDC was charged with having a double standard by the group.
If their sequence of lobbying fails to have the desired effect, they vowed to go to the parliament house to demand the laying of the ci.
By Peter Quao Adattor
