The Electoral Commissioner says that only photo identity card holders will be allowed to vote on Election Day.

Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, speaking at the 14th Speakers' Breakfast Forum, said the decision, which was taken by the EC after discussions with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), is meant to rid the voters' register of ghost names.

The Electoral Commissioner said the decision is to ensure that only accredited persons vote. It is also to eliminate double voting and chaos on polling day. "It has been discovered that a lot of the people on the register who have so far not taken their pictures simply don't exist; they are dead," Dr. Afari-Gyan said. "The photo-taking exercise is also rendering redundant multiple registrations by people who had moved residence or lost their voter identity cards."

The Electoral Commissioner said "all this would lead the EC to believe that the successful completion of the replacement of the thumb-print cards will give us a reasonable indication of the number of registered voters". Dr. Afari-Gyan said a revised voters' register has been printed and sent to the regions and districts in readiness for the elections.

The voters' list has also been made available to the political parties on CD Roms since "the EC could not get the printed registers to the various political parties due to lack of money." The printing of the voters' register to each party, according to him, would cost 50 million cedis each.

Dr. Afari-Gyan thanked the donor community for its generous assistance, saying: "they have enhanced our capacity to deliver credible and trustworthy elections". He gave the assurance that the EC is ready and very capable of ensuring free and fair elections and urged the public to lend their support to ensure peaceful elections.

Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the strict use of photo identity cards in the elections must be looked at carefully. This should be done so as not to disenfranchise a large number of people who could not get a photo identity card for one reason or the other. He asked the EC to devise a fair system where persons who have lost their cards but have their names in the register could vote.

Mr John Amekah, General Secretary of the Great Consolidated People's Party (GCPP), said "anyone who does not have the photo identity card must blame himself and nobody else. This is a sure way to get the ghost names from the voters' register."

Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), asked Ghanaians to follow the rules and regulations laid down by the EC to ensure a smooth election.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Justice Annan, called for a legal framework to ensure that people are not denied their franchise in the elections. He expressed satisfaction with the choice of indelible ink that would be used in the vote, saying he has been told that it is one of the best in the world. He also added that there was nothing wrong with the NPP's decision to declare results so long as it is what the EC had already declared.