The Supreme Court (SC) has demanded that the Electoral Commission (EC) provide for its consideration, a legal basis for the Commission’s exclusion of the voters’ ID from among the legitimate and verifiable identity cards for the new voters’ registration exercise.
The Supreme Court gave the Electoral Commission upto June 8, to provided its legal basis.
The court orders the second defendant [Electoral Commission] to offer legal basis for not allowing the existing voters identification card to be used in the registration.
This legal argument shall be filed before June 8, 2020,” Chief Justice Anin Yeboah directed.
The lawyers in the case are Godwin Tamakloe for the NDC, Justin Amenuvor for the Electoral Commission and Godfred Dame, representing the Attorney General.
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The National Democratic Congress (NDC), in March 2020 dragged the Electoral Commission to the Supreme Court over the compilation of the new voters’ register.
The NDC has argued that the EC lacks the power to go ahead with its plans because it can only compile a register of voters only once, and thereafter revise it periodically, as may be determined by law.
Accordingly, EC can only revise the existing register of voters, and lacks the power to prepare a fresh register of voters, for the conduct of the December 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
The NDC is also asking the court to declare as unlawful the EC’s decision to bar the use of the old voter ID cards for identification in the compilation of the new register.
It said the action is baseless and in breach of the Constitution.