The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu is urging Ghanaians to resist what he describes as the “blatant attempt by the Electoral Commission to amend or change the citizenship laws of Ghana through the backdoor.”

According to Mr. Iddrisu, this is being done through the “use of an inferior Instrument to amend an Act of Parliament or by extension the Constitution which will intend disenfranchise Ghanaians.”

Since the Electoral commission announced its decision to compile a new voters register for the 2020 elections, there has been constant debate on whether the country can afford to spend money on a new register when the current register had been used to organize two successful elections, create new regions and hold a district election.

While the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been at the forefront of the battle with the Electoral Commission (EC), 18 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have also come out to reject the proposal to compile a new electoral roll.

National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo who addressed a press conference on Thursday May 15 accused the EC and the National Identification Authority of acting in concert to rig the 2020 elections for the governing New Patriotic Party.

The NDC avers that per Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution, the EC can only compile a new roll once and then revise it.

They also argued that the exclusion of the Voter ID from the requirements needed to acquire a Ghana Card which is needed for the new voter registration was both unlawful and illegitimate.

The National Identification Authority (NIA), and the Electoral Commission subsequently came out to refute claims that they were working to rig the elections for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

But in its latest release, the Minority Leader insists the allegation by the NDC is true.

He said “the proposed amendment by the EC, seeking to limit primary documents for the registration of a voters ID to only the Ghanaian passport and a national identification card issued by the National Identification Authority will not only disenfranchise Ghanaians but also deny them their fundamental right to vote as provided by the Constitution.