Ghana’s Information Minister says there is no basis for anyone to jubilate over the Supreme Court’s questioning of the Electoral Commission’s (EC) basis for refusing to use the old voter identification cards.
Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, during his interaction with the media outside Parliament on Thursday, said the directive only reflects the judicial principle of fairness.
“The EC is doing something, a party feels aggrieved has applied to the Supreme Court, and before the Supreme Court makes a decision must ask the other party [for its reasons].
“I don’t know why anybody will jubilate, over that. The legal principle is called, Audi alteram partem. You cannot come to a judgment on a matter, without hearing from the other side,” he explained.
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The Supreme Court has ordered the EC to provide the legal basis why it decided to refuse to accept the existing voters’ identification card as a form of identification in the upcoming mass voters registration exercise.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, gave the order during hearing of a suit by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) challenging the upcoming compilation of new voters register by the EC.
For Mr Oppong-Nkrumah, the apex court of the land is only performing its duties, therefore, the NDC should not conclude that they have won the case.