Why Are The NDC Vehemently Against The Requirements Set For Registering For Ghanaian National Identity Card?

It has come about as a necessity, especially during general elections, to ensure that only natives or Ghanaian citizens, do exercise their universal adult suffrage. In many previous elections, no identity cards of any sort were required of anyone before they could vote in general elections. People were trusted to be honest when participating in such a national exercise. Local vigilantism also guaranteed that no foreigner did participate in such exercises. In the polling stations, the locals could point out if someone was a foreigner but trying to cast their vote or if someone was trying to impersonate another person for the purpose of casting their vote for one political party or the other.

However, with the emergence of political incorrectness, where some political parties and their affiliates for a reason or the other decided to take advantage of others, it has necessitated that such abuses are arrested. In pursuance of that aim, a law was passed by Parliament to ensure that people are registered and be given voter's identity card. This came about as a result of some political parties dubiously arranging foreigners to vote for them during national elections.

Still, the Ghanaian digging deep into their black mentality which denotes more of negativities than positivity, tried to circumvent the policy by dashing to the neighbouring countries like Togo, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast to register these neighbouring foreigners to proceed to Ghana to vote for their political party at general elections. The NDC were noted for this hence the issue attracting national concern in the years and months preceding the 2016 general elections. This is confirmed by a publication on Ghanaweb under their General News of Monday, 24 August 2015 titled, “NDC boys spill beans over Togolese voters” as sourced from the Daily Guide and under the web link:

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/NDC-boys-spill-beans-over-Togolese-voters-377305

People were required to produce their Ghanaian birth certificate, naturalisation paper or get some local person to vouch for them that they are Ghanaian and are known or are resident in the locality. This request became too hard for the NDC. They opposed it and were alleged to have agreed with the Electoral Commission to accept National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) registration card as enough evidence to prove a registrant's Ghanaian identity to be registered onto the electoral roll. However, NHIS cards were issued to anyone resident in Ghana to enable them access the free healthcare system introduced by former President John Agyekum Kufuor without necessarily taking their actual country's nationality into consideration. This same problem happened in the United Kingdom where all citizens including legal and illegal immigrants were once issued with National Health Service (NHS) cards. Subsequently, in the United Kingdom, NHS cards are not accepted as identity cards and for a few years back, one has to prove their genuine immigration status before they can even be registered onto the NHS.

The NDC as a political party and group of people have always insisted on registering people onto the electoral roll accepting their NHIS card as sufficient proof of one's Ghanaian identity. They even saw nothing wrong about some Ewes/Anlos living in Togo and are of Togolese nationality registering to vote in Ghana during general elections. This insistence by them culminated in a publication I put out on Ghanaweb in their Opinions column of Thursday, 17 September 2015 headlined, “Are Togolese Nationals Eligible to Register to Vote in Ghana Elections?” and under the web link:

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Are-Togolese-Nationals-Eligible-to-Register-to-Vote-in-Ghana-Elections-382100

Do the NDC understand the value of nationality and how it is important to judiciously guard the identity of a country and its citizens? Do the NDC understand that the acquisition of a nationality is by right of birth as a native of the country or a process specifically spelt out and entrenched in a country's Constitution or Statute books hence nationality not being dished out like going to the market to buy tomatoes and given extras free of charge?

Once, it was alleged that the NDC were registering their party members biometrically. They were using similar biometric and verification machines as used by the Electoral Commission to register Ghanaian voters. It was again alleged that they had taken their registration exercise to the neighbouring Togo, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast to register some people purported to be NDC supporters but actually were pure foreigners probably able to speak some of the Ghanaian dialects. Their objective as alleged, was to pass on the registrants' details to the Electoral Commissioners who were by then suspected to be their bedfellows to import the details of their registered party members from their database into that of the Electoral Commission. The veracity of this allegation could be proved by the allegation made about a year ago by Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chair of the Ghana Electoral Commission, against Mr Amadu Sulley. She accused him of transferring illegal votes and also of pocketing huge amounts of money from some political parties.

There we go! Without gainsaying, what votes was he transferring and from where to where and why and how? All the underlying cited web links will assist the public readers to gain insight into the purposefully deceitful determination by NDC to have foreigners given the free licence to register as Ghanaians.

“NDC Planning to use $43m to fund biometric register”

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/NDC-Planning-to-use-43m-to-fund-biometric-register-289072

“CID petitioned to arrest Asiedu Nketia”
http://www.pulse.com.gh/news/politics/election-2016-cid-petitioned-to-arrest-asiedu-nketia-id4596908.html

“Prosecute 'Togolese voters' – Nitiwul”
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Prosecute-Togolese-voters-Nitiwul-376413

“NDC diaspora endorses biometric system”
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/diaspora/NDC-diaspora-endorses-biometric-system-288803

Now, back to the main motive behind this publication. The NDC have been resisting the requirements for registering and issuing National Identity card to qualifying persons. For one to be accepted as an eligible Ghanaian for registration to be issued a National Identity card, one is required to produce their Ghana birth certificate or passport or be vouched for by two known Ghanaians; be they family members or not. The NDC are saying many Ghanaians were not issued birth certificates when they were born or might have lost theirs hence they will never accept the requirements as specified but to allow anyone having a voter's identity card to use it to register for a National Identity card.

What the height of stupidity in demonstration by the NDC? Why does it not suffice, or be acceptable to, them, for a known Ghanaian to vouch for the one claiming to be a Ghanaian but has either lost their Ghana birth certificate or was never issued any owing to the era or the village/town they were born in?

To vouch means “to support as being true, certain, reliable or to attest; guarantee; certify, etc.” Should they refuse this requirement, then it goes to confirm that they did register some foreigners onto the electoral roll sometime past with the aim of getting them to vote for NDC.

In many of the civilized Western countries, the issue of immigration has been the major issue during their electioneering campaigns and those parties that promise to deal ruthlessly with immigrants are winning the elections. Donald Trump of America won because of his strong stance against immigrants. In Italy as we speak, and Austria, some populist political parties are winning elections. In the United Kingdom, the Leavers won the referendum hence the Brexit all because the leaders of Brexit campaigned using tough stance against immigration as their main issue.

As the world order and the tide are turning against immigrants, here in Ghana are some people trying to dish out Ghanaian nationality to purely foreigners who do not even normally reside in the country. This is all because of the malicious intent by some people or a political party to ameliorate their chances of winning political power. Do they know the end result of such intent on Ghana as a nation – the economic, social and political cost to Ghana and the people of Ghana?

An immigrant is defined as “a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence or a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently”. A foreigner is defined as “a person not native to or naturalized in the country or jurisdiction under consideration” or “a person who comes from another country”.

Time is against me so I shall end here to follow it up with a WhatsApp voice message. The requirements as specified must stay. Whoever cannot get someone to attest for them as being a Ghanaian may indeed not be a Ghanaian, period!

Rockson Adofo