Turn up to register : If you are 18 (April 28, Front)
The
Electoral Commission (EC) will today reach out to Ghanaians who have attained
the age of 18 and those who could not register during the last voters
registration exercise in order to capture them on the electoral roll.
The
10-day nationwide limited voters registration exercise, which ends on Sunday,
May 8, 2016, will allow first-time voters to register to be able to vote in
national elections and referenda.
According
to the EC, it expected some 1.2 million young people and adults to get their
names onto the register ahead of the November polls.
The EC
has warned that the exercise, which is taking place at over 3,000 centres
nationwide from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, is not an avenue for already registered
voters to replace lost voters ID cards or to transfer their votes from one
constituency to another.
It has
given assurance that it will provide back-up kits to ensure that the breakdown
of biometric machines do not hinder the exercise.
Earlier
postponement
The
commission had initially planned to carry out the registration in March 2016,
but since the Constitutional Instrument, CI 91, which was to regulate the
registration had been laid in Parliament at that time and was yet to mature, it
decided to postpone it to this month.
The law
came into effect on March 17
Prior to
that, the EC had postponed indefinitely the limited voters registration
exercise scheduled for June 20 to 29, 2014 to give room for consultation
between the EC and its stakeholders.
Low
publicity
Despite
the generally low publicity on the registration exercise, all stakeholders are
expected to make it a success.
The
various political parties are also whipping up interest by encouraging their
supporters, particularly those in their strongholds, to register for the
November 7 elections.
Already,
the flag bearer of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), President
John Dramani Mahama, and that of the dominant opposition party, the New
Patriotic Party ( NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, have added their voices to
the call on eligible Ghanaians to register.
On his
official Twitter account on Sunday, April 24, Nana Akufo-Addo pleaded with his
followers thus: “Please spread the word about the registration exercise and
register.”
That
follows that of President Mahama, who is spotted in an advertisement by the NDC
persuading young eligible Ghanaians to register.
To whip
up enthusiasm for the exercise, the EC has rolled out radio adverts and sent
out vans to mobilise potential first-time voters.
Across
the country, the EC has published notices and placed signs directing
prospective voters to the centres for the exercise.
While the
EC is encouraging eligible voters to register, it has warned that it will not
be lenient with those who flout the law and register when they are not
qualified to do so.
CI 91 —
the law on which the November elections is grounded also spells out what
constitutes voter ID offences.
Voter
identification card offences
Section
29 of the law states: “(1) A person who possesses the identification card of
another person without the express consent of that other person commits an
offence.
“(2) A
political party or any other organisation shall
not be in possession of the identification card of any
of its members or of any other person without the express written consent
of that member or that other person.
“(3) A
person who finds a lost identification card shall, within fourteen days after
finding that card, surrender the card to the district officer of the Commission
or a police officer in charge of the nearest police station, otherwise that
person shall be deemed to be in unlawful possession of another person's
identification card.
“(4) A
police officer to whom a lost identification card has been surrendered shall
surrender the card to the district officer of the Commission within 14 days
after the card had been given to that police officer otherwise that police
officer shall be deemed to be in unlawful possession of another person’s identification
card.
“(5) An
individual who commits the offence of unlawful possession of another person's
identification card is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than
three hundred penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not more than six
months for each identification card which that individual held unlawfully.
“(6) A
political party, organisation or a group of persons which commits the
offence of unlawful possession of an identification card is liable on
summary conviction to a fine of not more than one thousand penalty units and an
additional fine of one hundred penalty units for each
identification card held unlawfully.”
Registration
offences
Among
registration offences listed by Section 28 of the law are registering when one
is not qualified, registering more than once, register as a voter in the name
of another person, use of force or threat to prevent registration, knowingly
giving false information to aid registration, forgery, defacing of posters,
notices, papers, documents, equipment, instruments and any other material
relating to the registration of voters and registering people at unauthorised
places.
EC
explains
Meanwhile,
the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei, has explained why Ghanaians who
wish to replace their lost voters identification cards have to pay GH¢5.
She said
the printing materials and lamination of the cards were costly, hence the need
to charge for the replacement of the cards.
Speaking
at the launch of the EC's new five-year strategic plan in Accra on Tuesday, Mrs
Osei said one would not be disenfranchised without the voters ID.
“There is
a GH¢5 fee because the paper, the laminate... they all cost money and it
doesn’t disenfranchise you if you don’t have your card because you can vote
without your card.
“All that
you need in Ghana to vote is your finger so… once you have your fingers and you
show up, we scan you on the register, your details come up and you can vote,”
Mrs Osei said during question time at the event.
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