Socially inclusive not-for-profit organisation, CARE Ghana is urging the Electoral Commission (EC) to widen the scope and not limit the upcoming limited voter registration to only its district offices across the country.
CARE Ghana intimates such a move will create an unfair obstacle and disenfranchise citizens since most district offices of the EC are located in remote areas.
The largest opposition political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with some four other parties also expressed dissatisfaction with the EC’s decision and sued the Commission to compel it to reverse the decision.
The executive director of CARE Ghana, David Kumi Addo in a statement indicated the EC’s decision is in sharp contrast with the 1992 Constitution and must therefore be withdrawn to create an opportunity for all potential registrants.
“The decision by the Electoral Commission to limit voter registration exercise to only its district offices is discriminatory and does not afford universal and equal opportunity to all qualified voters. This will erect an unfair obstacle and disenfranchise citizens since most district offices of the EC are located remotely and most would-be qualified voters may not be able to access them. Limiting voter registration to a few registration centres without establishing any objective and reasonable reason for the restriction is unfortunate. This is the most obvious form of interference which will disenfranchise many eligible voters. It will deny documentation to some qualified voters and prevent their ability to exercise their franchise. The EC’s decision is in sharp contrast with the 1992 constitution and other international and regional legal documents such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Despite all the concerns raised by various individuals and organisations, the EC insists it does not anticipate any challenges with the exercise.
