Voters ID card may not necessarily be a prima facie evidence of citizenship

The Voters ID card may not necessarily be a prima facie evidence of citizenship.

If we ask, what is the title of citizenship no general answer is possible unless a particular legal system is referred to.

USA law claims as subjects all who are born within the territory of the Country (I don’t know if Trump has changed it.)

French Law attaches French citizenship to French blood and their descent irrespective of place of birth.

Historically or in its primitive form, we may say that citizenship was by way of men united by common blood and descent, and by various bonds such as common speech, religion and many others.

Chapter 3 of the constitution when read, will reveal that citizenship is by way of blood except under special circumstances stated by the constitution such as adoption and foundling.

Even though the holding of the Voters ID card may be a prima facie evidence of someone’s citizenship as a Ghanaian but from the legal principle on citizenship, we can go a bit more further than the voters ID card to investigate a subject citizenship by way of blood or descent and subsidiary bond such as language and many more.

The question then is, can the EC impose such additional duty on people to come proving that their citizenship by way of voters ID card is genuine or not?

The only problem is that the EC now cannot prove this unless the holders of these cards have come proving what I have already outlined. (Blood,Language etc)

It is a tall order but as I have said, the EC may not necessarily be disenfranchising anyone by replacing the voters ID card but rather, they may have varied the conditions precedent to exercising voting right.

I have equally maintain that the right to vote is a contingent right and the EC has the power to vary the conditions attached to such right reasonably.

(Varying of conditions attached to rights is different from taking away the right in question)

The EC May not have much of a problem if the right to vote is seen in this context.

Source: Agyei Williams