Albert Arhin, the National Coordinator of the Coalition Of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO), has raised concerns over the misuse of the guarantor system in the just-ended limited voter registration exercise.
The Electoral Commission’s Limited Voter Registration Exercise, which commenced on May 7 and was scheduled to conclude on May 27, officially ended on Wednesday, May 29, after a two-day extension.
Even though the commission wanted the Ghana Card as proof of identity and citizenship, the data indicated that over 60% of new voters registered through the guarantor system instead of the Ghana card.
According to Arhin, approximately 63% of registrants used guarantors, suggesting a deliberate shift from the exclusive use of the Ghana Card, as proposed by the Electoral Commission.
“The only issue that I had from the field which I wasn’t happy about is this part of the guarantor system being abused. I don’t know when this is going to stop. If you look at the statistics, about 63% of the people who registered went through the guarantor system and this goes to prove that maybe one day we have to use the Ghana Card as proposed by the EC,” he stated.
Mr Arhin explained that most of the reported disturbances during the registration exercise were a result of the abuse of the guarantor system by the political parties.
“For most of the time when there is trouble at the registration centre, it’s either the guarantor system or these minors who are presented as eligible persons to register. So, I think as a nation we need to be very firm on this. Let’s stick to one system, it’s either we say it’s the ID card or passport.”
“The guarantor system is being abused in the sense that people are always roaming the station and trying to prove that they know somebody and therefore the person should be allowed to register and this is always causing chaos,” he added.
In light of these challenges, CODEO has recommended a robust collaboration between the Electoral Commission and the National Identification Authority (NIA) to ensure that a lot more people get their Ghana cards to prevent a future challenge that occurs during the registration.
“I would advise that they should collaborate seriously with the NIA about this national identification thing. Once we get that right, I think the abuse of the guarantor system will be a thing of the past,” he added.
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