Supreme Court to give judgement on voter register compilation on June 25
The Supreme Court is finally set to deliver its judgement on June 25, in the case filed by the biggest opposition party, National Democratic Congress(NDC) on the compilation on a new register.
The NDC is challenging the exclusion of the existing voter ID card from the list of documents needed to register to vote.
Judgement was initially scheduled for June 23, 2020, but was moved after one Mark Takyi-Banson filed a fresh suit challenging the EC exercise.
The court’s decision on Thursday will determine if the Electoral Commission can go ahead with its intended exercise ahead of the 2020 elections, or if existing voter ID cards can be used for registering for a new one.
NDC goes to court
NDC abandons part of its case
On June 11, the NDC abandoned its legal case challenging the constitutional mandate of the EC in compiling a new register.
Lawyer for the NDC, Mr Godwin Tamakloe, abandoned the NDCs legal challenge on its two legal arguments.
The NDC’s suit at the Supreme Court is based on two premises – first, that the attempt by the EC to compile a new registration exercise was unconstitutional and second that the decision of the EC to exclude an existing voter ID as a form of identification for the exercise was also unconstitutional.
That was after the court told counsel that per the rules of court, a party cannot be seeking a relief and also asked to be granted another relief in the alternative.
Counsel took a cue from the bench and abandoned the relief that had to do with the EC’s decision to conduct the registration exercise and subsequently abandoned its legal case.
Fresh case hits EC
But on June 12, a private citizen sent back to the court, the NDC’s abandoned case.
A private citizen, Mark Takyi-Banson, wanted the Supreme Court to properly interpret Article 45(a) of the 1992 constitution which gives the EC the power to compile a voter’s register.
It states: the Electoral Commission shall have the power to “(a) compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law”
But that first leg of their case was dropped in court during a hearing on Thursday, June 11.
The second leg of the NDC’s case which is now the focus in court is that the EC’s decision to exclude the use of the old voter ID cards in the new voter registration exercise is illegal.
EC justifies exclusion
Two days later, the EC provided the legal justification the court asked for as to why it wanted to exclude the existing voter ID card from the registration process.
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensah, said the compilation of a new voters’ register would prevent the manipulation of the 2020 polls.
The new register, she believed, would ensure a credible general election on December 7.
She said the EC’s decision was in the interest of all political parties and that it was committed to delivering incident-free and peaceful elections.
“A bloat in our register could have dire consequences for any election and as a people, we should go to an election with a mindset that it has to be credible,” the EC boss said.
The Supreme Court has in a unanimous decision merged the two cases against the EC’s voters’ registration exercise.
The Court has also indefinitely adjourned its judgement in the case filed by the NDC which was slated for June 23.
Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in an application urged the Supreme Court to merge the new case filed against the Electoral Commission with the other case which was due for judgement on June 23.
On June 24, the Supreme Court dismissed attempts of the IMANI Africa and 17 other civil society organisation to join the case as friends of the court to provide further information on the legal tussle between the NDC and the EC.
IMANI had filed an Amicus Curiae not to be a party to the case, but to assist the Supreme Court through offering information, expertise or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.
The Supreme Court unanimously tossed out the IMANI brief, which it said had no place in law.
NDC vs EC: Supreme Court throws out IMANI’s friend of the court application