EC sued again over compilation of new voters register

The Electoral Commission of Ghana headed by Jean Mensa has once again been slapped with another lawsuit challenging its decision to compile a new voters register.

The suit filed by a private citizen, Mark Takyi-Banson at the Supreme Court seeks a declaration that the EC’s uncompromising position to compile a new voters register barely six months to the general election is inconsistent with Article 45(a) of the 1992 constitution.

Also, the suit aims at challenging the EC’s decision of ruling out the use of the birth certificate and the voters’ ID for the compilation of the new voters register.

This is not the first suit to hit the EC following its decision to compile a new voters register as the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is currently in a stiff legal battle with the electoral body over the same issue.

The relief sought by Mark Takyi-Banson includes;

1. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of article 45(a) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana the Electoral Commission’s constitutional and statutory mandate to compile the register of voters for the conduct and supervision of all public elections and referenda is spent saving only the power reserved in the Commission to revise and expand the register of voters at such periods as may be determined by law

2. A declaration that the Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a new register of voters is inconsistent with and a violation of article 45 (a) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

3. A declaration that regulation 1(3) of the public elections (registration of voters) (amendment) regulations, 2020 (C.I. 126) is inconsistent with and violates the provisions of articles 42 and 45 (e) of the 1992 Constitution to the extent that it excludes Birth Certificates issues to Ghanaians as a mode of identification and/or establishing qualification to be registered in the register of voters.”