Youth Bridge Foundation calls on EC to open voter register as parliamentary by-elections looms

A youth-focused non-governmental organization, Youth Bridge Foundation, has called on the Electoral Commission to open Ghana’s voters register for the registration of new eligible voters.

In a statement, the Foundation said “a scan of Ghana’s current political landscape hints at the possibility of impending by-elections.”

Youth Bridge Foundation believes that a significant number of young Ghanaians have reached the eligible voting age of 18 years since the last date the country’s voter register was opened.

With the constitution instructing the EC to organize an election within 60 days after a declaration of a by-election by Parliament, the Foundation is worried that many young Ghanaian citizens could be disenfranchised.

“We, Youth Bridge Foundation, wish to express concern about the potential to disenfranchise some young Ghanaian citizens who turned 18 years after the 2020 voter registration in the sudden event of parliament’s declaration of vacant seat(s),” the statement reads.

“Consistent with Article 42 of the 1992 constitution, we call on the EC to urgently and proactively take steps to revise the voters’ register in order to provide ample time for young persons who have attained the eligible voting age of 18 years register and have the opportunity to vote in an eventual by-election,” it continued.

Meanwhile, the Foundation has commended the EC for “being resolute in the use of its district office for the 2020 limited voter registration.”

It believes that the “decision has reduced cost and facilitated the development of structures of continuous voter registration agenda.”