Member of the NDC Communication Team, Philip Sabah has raised serious concerns over the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to charge 0.50p for voter register checks, labeling it as a clear form of “thievery and illegal.”
Sabah points out that Article 54 of the Constitution explicitly states that all expenses of the commission should be charged from the Consolidated Fund. He questions why citizens are being burdened with fees that should be covered by the state.
“No bank charges money for checking one’s balance, nor does any telco charge for checking account balances,” Sabah argued. “So why is the EC imposing this fee on Ghanaians? It’s just another form of stealing money from the already poor, unemployed citizens.”
He further highlighted the potential revenue generated by the fee, noting, “0.50p times 18 million registered voters amounts to 9 million cedis. Where is that money going? For what purpose?”
The Electoral Commission has begun the 2024 Voters Exhibition Exercise and end on August 27, 2024.
According to Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Bossman Asare, the exercise is to help voters locate their respective polling stations.