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In May, the Danquah Institute raised the alarm that one of the documents that the Electoral Commission has announced as adequate proof of Ghanaian citizenship would compromise the integrity of the Voters Register. In announcing a limited registration this year to enable those who may have turned 18 years since the 2012 registration of voters and those who were 18 then but could register, the EC reportedly said holders of National Health Insurance Scheme Cards were eligible to register as voter. A fellow of the DI had strongly condemned the move at a press conference, pointing out that the National Health Insurance Authority has proudly stated on its website that �persons not resident in the country but who are on a visit to the country can obtain NHIS card.� Additionally, not everyone resident in Ghana is a Ghanaian who is qualified for registration as a voter, but free to register for the NHIS, for safety sake. An all-comers card, if ever there was one! In a recent statement re-scheduling the 10-day registration exercise for Friday, July 25, to Sunday, August 3, 2014, EC deputy chairman (Operations), Amadu Sulley, omitted the NHIS card as acceptable for proof of one�s Ghanaians. �What will be required to prove the identity and eligibility of voters will include identification documents as proof of eligibility such as National Identification Card, Ghanaian Passport, Drivers Licence, or an old voter ID card�, Sulley said. The EC boss also disclosed that those eligible applicants who do not have the specified identity documentation �may find two Ghanaians who are already registered as Voters to guarantee their registration by completing a voter registration identification guarantee form�. The Chronicle is happy the issue has been resolved to the satisfaction of all. For elections are won and lost at the polling station, and not at collation centres. The DI deserves commendation for its alertness but it should desist from painting the town red in self-congratulation, as it was merely doing its duty to protect and promote the political tradition it has inherited. Eternal vigilance is the price payable for liberty. However, The Chronicle is worried that the dispute arose at all. The EC in support of its iron-clad independence ought not to give room for its impartiality to be impugned. The five commissioners and their lawyers do not need to have waited for the Danquah Institute to tell them that possession of NHIS card was not adequate proof of Ghanaian citizenship. Or is there a deficiency within their set up? An institution, empowered by the 1992 Constitution not to take directions from any in the discharge of its functions, must conduct itself in such a manner that like Caesar�s Wife she would always be above suspicion. Attempts at foisting patent illegalities such as NHIS cards as proof of Ghanaian citizenship leave a sour taste in the mouth and weakens the resolve of those Ghanaians who insist that the EC�s independence should not be derogated from. A word to the Wise!