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Afari-Gyan advises the EC not to abolish the guarantor system

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Afari-Gyan advises the EC not to abolish the guarantor system

Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, a former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), has criticised the commission for abandoning the guarantor system for the continuous voter registration exercise.

In an exclusive statement to the Daily Graphic, he said the EC’s claim that the guarantor system was ineffective and that the Ghana Card should be the sole means of registration was untenable.

According to Dr Afari-Gyan, since the National Identification Authority (NIA) permitted the guarantor regime in the registration for the Ghana Card, nothing prevented the EC from doing the same for the voter registration exercise and making the system as robust as it desired.

“What prevents the commission from instituting, in the upcoming constitutional instrument (CI), a guarantor regime as robust as or even more robust than the one being used by the NIA for doing the Ghana Card?” he queried.

Afari Gyan 1 jpeg
Afari-Gyan advises the EC not to abolish the guarantor system

Guarantor system

In accordance with Article 11 (7) of the 1992 Constitution, the EC intends to present a CI to Parliament to govern the continuous voter registration process.

According to the article, the CI, which seeks to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for the exercise and the only means of registration, will enter into force after 21 sitting days unless the house annuls it by a vote of not less than two-thirds of all Members of Parliament (MPs).

As part of the pre-layout of the CI, the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Adukwei Mensa, told Parliament last month that the Ghana Card, as the sole registration document, would ensure that only eligible Ghanaians registered.

According to her, such a move would provide the country with a credible voter roll and improve the electoral process. The EC chief stated that the guarantor system was abandoned because it was prone to abuse, undermining the credibility of the electoral roll.

“The challenges with the guarantor system are that it opens the door for registered voters or guarantor contractors to guarantee/vouch for persons who are less than 18 years and it allows the guarantors to vouch for foreigners. Such unqualified persons used the door of the guarantor system to try to get onto the register.

“Truth be told, the guarantor system was not the best under any circumstances, but we did not have other options, since a significant number of people did not possess the Ghana Card at the time. Even, then, we had 10 million Ghanaians using the Ghana Card to back their citizenship at the time of registration,” she said.

Criticisms

Dr Afari-Gyan is not the only one who has criticised the EC’s proposed CI.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), a civil society organisation, have criticised the CI, particularly the EC’s decision to scrap the guarantor system, which previously allowed a registered voter to vouch for the citizenship of another person seeking to register.

The NDC has called the CI “obnoxious and a threat to the country’s democracy,” and has directed its MPs not to leave Parliament to fight the proposed law.

According to the CDD, eliminating the guarantor system would make it extremely difficult for many Ghanaians to register, ultimately infringing on their constitutional right to vote.

“The current CI 126 allows for a guarantor to guarantee for up to five people; this can be reduced to three,” it said.

Citizenship

Dr. Afari-Gyan, the EC’s longest-serving Chairperson, reiterated his criticism of the use of the Ghana Card as the sole source document for the registration process.

In an earlier statement to the Daily Graphic in August last year, he stated that making the Ghana Card the sole identification document would disenfranchise millions of qualified Ghanaians and that the EC’s move was therefore contrary to electoral inclusivity, fairness, and justice.

In his new critique, he stated that he was not opposed to the use of the Ghana Card and did not disagree with the EC that the Ghana Card was very important and would help to clean up the electoral roll.

“I think that it is grossly unfair and misleading to try to create the impression that the debate over whether or not, as of now, the Ghana Card should be the only basis for a Ghanaian citizen to be registered as a voter revolves wholly around how useful the card is. I have not heard anybody saying that the Ghana Card is not a good thing to have or use,” he said.

According to him, his disagreement stemmed from the EC’s gradual adoption of the Ghana Card as the sole means of citizenship, which is required to register as a voter.

His contention was that the Ghana Card did not bestow citizenship but rather validated that citizenship; thus, making the Ghana Card the sole means of registration meant the EC was attempting to define those without the card as not citizens of Ghana eligible to vote.

“In my view, as of now, it cannot be reasonably assumed that every Ghanaian of voting age has the Ghana Card, or can get one well ahead of the next elections,” he said.

“In fact, given that even under continuous registration there is a cut-off period, during which time one can register as a voter but cannot vote in the following election, I think it is far too early yet to make a fetish of Ghana Card as the only basis for registering a Ghanaian citizen as a voter,” Dr Afari-Gyan averred.

Source: graphic.com.gh

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Prison sentence begins immediately Sedina Tamakloe arrives in Ghana

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Regarding the potential of her serving her jail sentence overseas owing to Ghana's terrible prison circumstances, the NPP member stated, "That is a point, but you cannot expect us to upgrade our prison conditions to the point where they have one person to a room with a TV set." Madam Tamakloe received a ten-year jail term for causing the state a financial loss of GHC90 million. Daniel Axim, the organization's former Operations Manager and collaborator, received a five-year prison sentence as well.

Kingsley Amoako-Boadu, a private legal practitioner, has stated that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Sedina Tamakloe’s jail sentence will take effect as soon as she lands in Ghana.

He added that because she is not available within Ghana’s jurisdiction, the punishment can only begin once she comes.

“The jail term begins when she arrives in Ghana,” he explained on Key Points in April 2024.

Regarding the potential of her serving her jail sentence overseas owing to Ghana’s terrible prison circumstances, the NPP member stated, “That is a point, but you cannot expect us to upgrade our prison conditions to the point where they have one person to a room with a TV set.”

Madam Tamakloe received a ten-year jail term for causing the state a financial loss of GHC90 million. Daniel Axim, the organization’s former Operations Manager and collaborator, received a five-year prison sentence as well.

Madam Tamakloe was jailed in absentia while seeking court authorization to go to the United States for medical treatment.

Following the judgement, Deputy Attorney-General Alfred Tua-Yeboah stated that the state has begun proceedings to extradite the former MASLOC chief to Ghana to complete his sentence.

“We’ve started the processes and with this judgement, that is going to speed up the process. In Ghana we have various clauses, you can choose to just stay, but so far we have laws regulating how you can be extradited from one country to Ghana if there is a judgment like this one. Rest assured, she would be brought down and face justice,” he explained.

It would be recalled that speaking on the jailing of Sedina Tamakloe who was tried in absentia, on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Tuesday, April 16 Kpebu said “The main change we may face is prison conditions. INTERPOL will do their bit so that they will spread it all over the world, all the police agencies of all the countries in the world asking for her to be extradited to Ghana. But one of the key things we will be facing is the prison conditions in Ghana because I am aware in the past certain countries have refused to extradite persons to Ghana because of our very inhuman prison conditions, so that is the biggest challenge we will have when it comes to extradition, but a lot of countries do extradite persons back to Ghana.”

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La Dadekotopon: Akufo-Addo’s driver files to enter the NPP parliamentary primary

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Solomon Kotey Niikio, the area's MCE, has also filed a candidature to run. Joseph Addo, President Akufo-Addo's driver for more than 20 years, claims to have contributed to the constituency's progress. "I have helped the youth in this area get jobs and employment in government agencies"

President Akufo-Addo’s personal driver has registered a nomination for the La Dedekotopon NPP Parliamentary primary on April 27, 2024.

Joseph Addo, who was vetted and certified by the party’s Greater Accra Elections Committee, claims he would win the seat back for the NPP.

“I was born and bred here in La, I have lived all my life here so I am not new in this constituency.”

The National Executive Committee of the NPP approved a primary in the constituency after the elected Parliamentary Candidate, Dr Gerald Joseph Tetteh, resigned for personal reasons.

Solomon Kotey Niikio, the area’s MCE, has also filed a candidature to run.

Joseph Addo, President Akufo-Addo’s driver for more than 20 years, claims to have contributed to the constituency’s progress.

“I have helped the youth in this area get jobs and employment in government agencies”

He goes on to say that, “Recently when the party needed an office space after the destruction of the old office, I personally worked to get a new office for the party” .

Joseph Addo feels confident in winning the primary on April 27th and the general election on December 7th.

Rita Naa Odoley Sowah of the NDC won the La Dedekotopon seat in the 2020 election, defeating the NPP.

The NPP hopes to reclaim the seat in the December elections.

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We will pursue everyone who has misused state monies – Mahama

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Speaking on Tuesday, April 16, as part of his "Building the Ghana We Want" trip in the North East Region, he emphasised the necessity of accountability and openness in governance, stating that anybody found guilty of misappropriating monies will face repercussions. The previous president promised to empower investigative and anti-corruption authorities to function properly throughout his term. He hopes to eliminate corruption and maintain Ghana's rule of law by enabling these authorities to carry out their tasks without interference. Mr Mahama encouraged Ghana's young to be positive and asked them to vote for the NDC in the 2024 elections, promising a brighter future under his leadership.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has issued a strong warning to existing government appointees implicated in the misuse of public monies.

He stated unequivocally that anyone guilty of such activities would be held accountable for the harm done to the nation if elected in future elections.

Mr. Mahama emphasised that his objective is not to conduct a witch hunt, but rather to guarantee that state resources are used for their proper purposes, therefore benefiting the Ghanaian people.

Speaking on Tuesday, April 16, as part of his “Building the Ghana We Want” trip in the North East Region, he emphasised the necessity of accountability and openness in governance, stating that anybody found guilty of misappropriating monies will face repercussions.

The previous president promised to empower investigative and anti-corruption authorities to function properly throughout his term. He hopes to eliminate corruption and maintain Ghana’s rule of law by enabling these authorities to carry out their tasks without interference.

Mr Mahama encouraged Ghana’s young to be positive and asked them to vote for the NDC in the 2024 elections, promising a brighter future under his leadership.

He stressed the need for joint work in creating a wealthy and fair society, underlining the role of youth in moulding the country’s future.

“I can assure them that the people of Ghana will hold them accountable for their actions.” We are not intending to witch-hunt anyone, but if you have harmed the people of Ghana and misused their money, you must account for it. So investigative and corruption institutions will operate, and the young of our nation must acknowledge the harm done to them,” he stated.

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