The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, is accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of voter suppression.
According to him, the amendment to CI 91 by the EC which disallows the use of birth certificates and the old voters’ ID cards would disenfranchise millions of Ghanaians in 2024.
Explaining his viewpoint on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo Morning Show, he said Article 45 of the Constitution enjoins the EC to expand participation in elections.
Ofosu Ampofo however noted that the EC’s insistence on the use of the Ghana Card as the sole document for identification would lead to voter suppression.
He added that the NIA has admitted that about two million eligible Ghanaians don’t have their cards while the cards of another 1.5 million who have undergone the process have not been distributed yet.
Based on the above, he questioned that “why would the Electoral Commission decide that such a body (NIA) which is fraught with many challenges is the one on whom you (EC), an independent body, would ride on to conduct elections?”
When asked why he was accusing the government of conspiracy, he explained that “the EC almost went into an agreement with Parliamentary Committee for subsidiary legislation to maintain the use of passports and the guarantor system (with slight modification) for the compilation of the voters’ register.
“After the EC told Parliament it was going to refine the CI, the NPP started announcing that only the Ghana Card would be used for the register ahead of 2024 elections…not long afterward the EC organized a press conference to confirm that only the Ghana Card would be used…this gives the impression that there is collusion between NPP and EC”, he said on Thursday.
Mr. Ampofo also described the ruling of the Supreme Court that disallows the use of birth certificates and old voters’ ID cards from voter registration as bizarre.
