Charlotte Osei, EC Boss
Five Ghanaians resident in the United States have sued the Electoral Commission (EC) over the non-implementation of the Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA), (Act 699).
The applicants want the Human Rights High Court to declare that the failure by the EC to operationalise the Act since it became law on February 24, 2006, is a breach of their fundamental rights under the various laws (Articles 42 and 33 (5), (Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, etc.) and legal instruments.
The five – Kofi A. Boateng, Agyenim Boateng, Nellie Kemevor, Obed Danquah and Christiana Sillim also want the court to declare that the refusal to uphold full operationalisation of the Act by the Attorney General (AG) – who is also a party to the suit – since it became law, is a breach of the said various laws and legal instruments.
The applicants, among others, also seek a declaration that their “right to vote and entitlement to be reregistered as voters for the purpose of public elections and referenda” in the light of Act 699 have been violated.
The five also want an order of mandamus directed at the EC to forthwith ensure full operationalisation of Act 699 by taking steps to register applicants for the purposes of voting in the 2020 national elections and subsequent ones.
The applicants first filed the suit on April 4, last year but withdrew it after the EC had filed an affidavit in opposition.
They subsequently withdrew because of the fact that the EC attached certain documents which showed a clear road map for the effective implementation of Act.
They are back in court this time round on grounds of breach of their fundamental human rights.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com