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Parliamentary committee okays Constitutional Instrument 126

Parliamentary committee okays Constitutional Instrument 126

The Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament has, by a 12-9 majority decision, recommended to Parliament to accept its report on the Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) Constitutional Instrument (CI 126).

The vote means that the report will be presented to the Plenary for a full debate prior to the instrument coming into force on June 10.

A source close to the committee, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Daily Graphic that after the consideration of the CI, the Minority refused to accept the report, which necessitating the need for a vote.

“We the Majority accepted the report, but the Minority rejected it and we had to vote on it, leading to a 12-9 majority decision,” it said.

“We have accepted the EC’s CI; we are just waiting for it to mature and come into force,” it added.

The CI 126, which seeks to make the Ghana Card and the Ghanaian passport the only legal identification documents for registering people in the new biometric voters register, was first laid before the House on March 16, this year but was withdrawn and re-laid on two occasions after the Subsidiary Legislation Committee detected some defects in the instrument on those occasions.

The last time it was re-laid in Parliament was on March 31, this year.

As of yesterday, June 3, the CI had spent 16 sitting days in the House after it was laid for the third time.

New voters register

The EC postponed plans to compile a new voters register, which was scheduled to begin on April 18, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commission had said it was collaborating with health experts to decide on a more favourable date, depending on the prevalence rate of the disease.

New instrument

Per the CI, those who do not have either of the national identification documents can go ahead to register, on condition that they can be backed by two persons who have already registered.

The CI, which will amend the relevant law or CI 91, was signed by the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Jean Mensa, and laid before the House by the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

“A person who applies for registration as a voter shall provide, as evidence of identification, one of the following: a passport, a national identification card or one voter registration identification guarantee form as set out in Form One of the schedule that has been completed and signed by two registered voters,” it said.

It said a registered voter “shall not guarantee the identity of more than 10 persons”.

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