Source: newsthemegh.com
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has advised parents and guardians to resist the urge to register their minor children as voters as part of the Electoral Commission’s ongoing Limited Voter Registration campaign.
On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, during visits to Registration Centers in the Greater Accra and Central Regions, Dr. Bawumia issued a warning that parents and children could face legal and other repercussions for signing the register before they are eligible to do so.
“Attempts to register children in the ongoing Limited Registration Exercise have been reported around the nation, according to the complaints we have received. It’s really concerning that.
“Apart from the illegality of such efforts, it also amounts to endangering the lives of these children, because if they enter the national records with the wrong age, it will have an effect on them throughout their lives.”
“It means, for instance, that they will be going on retirement before their actual age. They may not benefit from policies or programmes specifically designed to meet the needs of the youth. And it may have other unforeseen consequences,” he said.
Dr. Bawumia stressed the importance of having a credible and clean voter registration list for the 2024 general elections and beyond after suspending his statewide interaction with NPP Delegates on September 23, 2023.
“The Constitution guarantees every Ghanaian of the right age and sound mind the right to vote. I would therefore like to urge all stakeholders- parents, guardians, new registrants, parties – to cooperate with officials of the Electoral Commission to have a smooth and incident-free exercise to produce a register we can all be proud of.
“I would also like to thank officials of the EC for the great work they have done so far, despite the initial challenges,” he added.