He said the regional mass registration exercise, which is scheduled to start on July 22, this year, would be opened strictly to Ghanaians aged 15 years and above, free of charge.

Mr Kponor, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said Ghanaians below the age of 15 would be registered later.  

He said about 85 per cent of the total population of the Region had been targeted to be captured in the mass registration exercise.

Mr Kponor said a genuine birth certificate or a valid Ghanaian Passport or valid certificate of acquired citizenship was required to register for the card.

He cautioned that, people without a residential Ghana Post Digital Address Code would not be captured and urged such category of people to get themselves in readiness for the exercise.

The Regional Director of the NCCE said those without the mandatory documents, would need a relative issued with a Ghana Card or two members of the community who had been issued with a Ghana Card to vouch for them under oath.

He advised citizens to present to registration officials all other national identity documents in their possession including their Tax Identification Number (TIN) to ensure effective data harmonisation and integration with other state institutions.

Mr Kponor cautioned against falsification of documents or information and impersonation, saying that, "it is an offense punishable by law."

The National Identification Card, also known as the Ghana Card is a valid verification document issued by the NIA to Ghanaians using biometric technology to capture fingerprints, facial templates and the iris of applicants to complete the exercise.

The card bears personal information about the individuals in a smart dual-interface format to be verified at all times.

The new Ghana Card is highly friendly to people with visual challenges, using readable tactile feature on the card for easy reading.

It also has a feature of an embedded logo of the passport of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which allows for it to be used in place of a passport across member States.