The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) over its decision to compile a new voters’ register for the conduct of the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The party wants the Supreme Court to declare that the EC, per the 1992 Constitution, can only compile a voters’ register once and subsequently review it over time and not compile a new one as it intends to do.
The writ which attaches the Attorney General as a defendant contends that “the 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 suit is the latest move by the opposition NDC to oppose the decision of the EC to compile a new roll for the upcoming general elections in December.
The party has since last year expressed displeasure through demonstrations since the EC announced the decision to compile the new register which it says is necessary for a free and fair election.
The party has now headed to the apex court seeking an interpretation of Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution which regulates electoral matters in the country.
Among the declaration being sought by the NDC is that the current Voters ID card which was issued to prospective voters can and should be used for the purposes of identification and enable them to vote.
The NDC is also seeking a declaration that the decision by the EC to amend the regulations that guide the registration of voters “to exclude existing voter identification cards as proof of identification to enable a person to apply for registration as a voter is unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.”
Again, the party is seeking a declaration that the decision by the EC “to exclude the existing voter identification cards from the documents required as proof of identification to enable a person to register as a voter without any justification is arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and contrary to Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution.”
The NDC is, therefore, seeking on the EC to include all existing voter identification cards duly issued by the EC as one of the documents serving as proof of identification for registration as a voter for the purposes of public elections.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak