The National Democratic Congress (NDC), has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) over plans to register voters on Thursday October 1.
The opposition party has issued a declaration that the Electoral Commission “has acted ultra vires in its attempt to reopen and/or conduct registration of voters on Thursday 1st October, 2020 when the Electoral Commission has not caused to be published in the Gazette, twenty one (21) days’ notice of this voters registration to the political parties and the general public”.
As part of their statement of claims as plaintiff, the NDC noted, that the Electoral Commission should have followed the stipulated directive of reopening the voters register.
“A declaration that the EC cannot proceed to reopen and /or conduct the voters registration exercise slated for Thursday 1st October 2020 without first publishing in the Gazette, twenty one (21) days’ notice of this voters registration to the political parties and the general public”, the statement read.
The elections body had planned to reopen the 2020 voter register for those who were unable to register during the registration exercise.
Per the EC, the register was to be reopened on Thursday, October 1 at the Commission’s district offices nationwide.
In a statement issued on Thursday, September 24, the EC said the move is to “give opportunity to those who have attained the age of Eighteen (18) and Citizens who for one reason or the other were not able to register in the just ended Registration Exercise”.
The Electoral Commission has been bludgeoned with a number of lawsuits over its intent to compile a new voter’s register with the latest being that of the NDC over its reopening of the voter’s register to accommodate and register those who were outside of the country during the initial registration.
On June 23, 2020, Ashaiman MP, Ernest Nogbey’s case against the EC was on the premise that the Commission did not have the mandate to compile a new register.
Elaborating on his demands from the court, he tasked the court to rule that the previous voters register, until revoked by a law passed by parliament, is the only register that can be used for the conduct of the 2020 election.
Mr. Norgbey’s case, however, was an application for judicial review asking the High Court to restrain the EC from undertaking the exercise.
Prior to this, two cases lying on the docket of the court against the EC had raised similar issues.
The NDC and a resident of Breman-Kokoso in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District of the Central Region, Mark Takyi-Banson sought that the Apex Court exercises its power of interpretation and enforcement to compel the Electoral Commission to not compile a new register.
In his defense, he proffers the use of voters ID card and birth certificate if the court allows the EC to do so as proof of identification.
