NHIS card is valid national ID - Ayariga

Founder and leader of the All People’s Congress (ACP) Hassan Ayariga has backed the Electoral Commission’s position not to delete names of people who registered as voters, with their National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) identification cards in 2012.

The Supreme Court has ruled that such individuals should be deleted from the voter roll and given another opportunity to re-register.

The Electoral Commission, however, after studying the Supreme Court ruling said its understanding did not suggest the use of any new process to delete the names of those who registered with NHIS cards, other than the existing processes for removing ineligible voters.

This interpretation has drawn sharp criticisms from some lawyers and politicians.

But in an interview with Class News’ Paa Kwesi Parker-Wilson, Dr Ayariga disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling and held the view that the NHIS card could pass for a national identification document.

“I think that for now the EC should go ahead with all the people who have registered with National Health Insurance [Scheme] cards, passports, National Identification cards and others. But what they need to do is verification,” he stated.

“The court needs to come again. The court needs to know who a Ghanaian is. …In [registering for] the National Health Insurance Scheme, there is a place where you apply as a Ghanaian, there is that detail there. Didn’t the court look at that? Didn’t the court observe that? You do not just use [the] National Health Insurance [Scheme] card; there is a place [on the form] where you are asked whether you are a Ghanaian and they see that you are a Ghanaian before you are given a National Health Insurance [Scheme] card, so, it is part of our identification because we do not have a data system.”