Reasons Why You Must Keep Your Old Voters ID Card

In the wake of the ongoing Voters Registration exercise, to help Ghanaians gain the new Voter’s ID Card for the upcoming General Election, many Ghanaians are in a fix whether the old voter’s ID is valid for identifying them and for documentation purposes.

For those who are convinced wrongly that the new Voters ID card they have acquired this year is instantly valid, may have either destroyed the current one (old) or spoilt it.

The above mindset and actions are wrong and should be discouraged with education and information.

Comments such as “I have the new ID, the old one is a waste” need to be discouraged since that assertion is false.

Just imagine you have to register with an institution, open a bank account, register for a SIM and all you have is the new Voters ID because you destroyed it. You will be denied the service since the new card is not valid yet.

FQAs: Is my Old Voters ID Card still valid?

The truth is that the old voter’s ID, although a poisoned fruit according to the Electoral Commission, still remains a valid means of identification for all documentations in Ghana. 

It will remain as such until probably the general election is held in December 2020.

Again, the various government institutions, public and private businesses like banks, Registrar Generals department which require the voter’s ID among other Identity Cards for transactions and registrations will continue to accept the old voter’s ID as valid until they are furnished with the necessary access or notice of the new Voters ID as a replacement for the old one for identification purposes.

It is therefore wrong for Ghanaians to destroy their old voter’s ID cards so quickly because they have obtained a new one.

Advice on Old Voters ID Card

We urge all Ghanaians who now have both the old and the new Voter’s IDs to keep both safely while using the old one for business transactions and other national registrations activities until such a time the EC and government give the green light for the official acceptance of the new 2020 voters ID.

It is also anticipated that when the new card becomes “legal tender” institution, both public and private will require customers who have the old ID on their files to update their records with them. Hence keep both your new and old Voters ID cards well.

Source: Electionsinghana.com