Yaa-Naa clarifies stance on voter registration

The Spokesperson of the King of Dagbon, Yaa-Naa Abukari Mahama II, says the eminent king did not support outright calls for the inclusion of the existing voters’ ID cards for the upcoming registration.

Baba Issifu told Stephen Anti on TV3’s Midday Live on Tuesday, June 11 that what the Yaa-Naa said was that the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) must ensure that a large section of the voter population is covered during the registration.

A group calling itself Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement on Wednesday petitioned the revered King of Dagbon over the EC’s resolve to compile a new register without recourse to the existing voters’ ID cards.

Replying the petitioners led by Emmanuel Azubila at his palace, the Yaa-Naa was quoted as saying excluding the existing voters’ ID cards could affect the process of compiling a new one.

He is also quoted as saying the existing register would serve as a guide to the EC in compiling a new one.

But Baba Issifu said what the Yaa-Naa sought to say was that broader consultations should be held by the EC in order to reach a consensus on the best means to have more people captured during registration.

He said the final determiner of what will be accepted for the registration is the EC, nonetheless.

Already, the EC has scheduled Monday, June 30 for the start of the nationwide exercise.

It is scheduled to end late July.

But before then, the Supreme Court will rule whether the Commission can exclude the existing IDs or not, in a case brought before it by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

So far, according to the new constitutional instrument (CI) 126, a passport and Ghana Card are the only required documents for registration.

In the absence of those two documents, a guarantee form can be filled for a person by two registered voters to vouch for that person’s citizenship.