Uniquenewsgh.com News, Politics, African News Updates & More
The majority in parliament says the minority side of the house is confusing matters on the new constitutional instrument which the electoral commission wants to lay in parliament.
Addressing the media the majority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu insists the NIA’s system used for registering the Ghana card is more robust than that of the EC’s
Adding, there is nothing wrong using the Ghana card as the sole document for registering persons onto the electoral roll.
He said past heads of the Commission did not consider the Ghana Card as the sole document because not all eligible Ghanaians had received them.
He cited how the Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan-led and Charlotte Osei-led commissions used the Ghana Cards alongside other documents of proof for continuous voter registration.
The Suame Member of Parliament stated, however, that the current Commission is finding the Ghana Cards more useful because the number of holders, according to the National Identification Authority (NIA) data, is close to the total voter population of the EC.
He said other state institutions have found the NIA cards credible for use for their operations and the EC should not stopped from towing that path.
“As we speak today, there are various institutions who recognising the integrity of the [National] Identification Authority and, indeed, the Ghana Card, have resorted to the use of the Ghana Card,” he told journalists in Parliament on Thursday, March 2.
He listed the institutions as the Bank of Ghana, 24 commercial banks, 146 rural and community banks, 16 savings and loans schemes, 16 FinTechs, five finance house, three microfinance institutions, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and now the Electoral Commission.
He also mentioned the Ghana Immigration Service, the telecommunication networks, the Students Loan Trust, the Passport Office as well as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
“So, if the Commission wants to do this, colleagues, what’s wrong with this?” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu wondered.
By uniquenewsgh.com
