Guarantor system for voter registration is subject to abuse - Dr. Bossman Asare

The Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, has given a justification for the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to scrap the guarantor system in the upcoming Limited Voter's Registration Exercise.

This comes after the commission came under criticism for its decision not to use the guarantor system to allow persons who are of age to be registered in the upcoming Limited Voter’s Registration Exercise.

Dr. Asare Bossman pointed out that the guarantor system employed by the Electoral Commission differs significantly from the one utilized by the National Identification Authority (NIA) during the Ghana card registration process.

He emphasised that the NIA's guarantor system has a legal component, which is the presence of commissioners of oath, making it legally binding.

In contrast, the EC's system lacks this legal safeguard, leading to instances of abuse by the public.

“The Ghana card guaranteeing process is so different from the Electoral Commission. With the Ghana Card, there is a commissioner of oath, so, that process is legally binding. But ours is not like that. So, because it is not like that people get away with it.

“And as I stated earlier, it is in the interest of the public for us to have a system that is very robust and scientific which is what the EC is going with,” he said.

Dr. Bossman Asare further explained that the decision by the EC to have limited registration at the various district offices is to discourage ineligible individuals from becoming guarantors to others in the registration process.

“We believe that by doing it the district offices, it will discourage people who are not legitimate to even be there. And we are open to ensuring that everybody is registered. When we begin and there is a problem, the commission will go to the drawing board.

“But now, on the basis of the information we have, we think this is the right thing for the good people of this country,” he explained.

The comments by the deputy Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Bossman Asare, come on the back of an injunction filed in court by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and four other opposition parties to halt the limited voter registration exercise.

They describe the exercise by the commission as an unlawful and unreasonable decision to restrict centres for the upcoming Limited Voter's Registration exercise to their District Offices.

According to them the EC’s decision to restrict the centres of voter registration to their district offices has the potential to deprive many eligible voters of their right to be registered as voters and to vote in public elections.

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