The Supreme Court (SC) has granted a perpetual injunction against the use of the 2012 Voter Identification Card to register in any new registration exercise, Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako have said.
“Even if the Electoral Commission (EC) should decide to accommodate the use of voter ID cards as proof of qualification, it is forever barred by Supreme Court from using a card acquired from 2012 till date,” they said.
Explaining the ruling by the court to the suit filed by them, Abu Ramadan said: “The SC gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EC from using the NHIS and the voter identification cards for the purposes of registering a voter under article 42.
“What this meant was that a perpetual injunction had been granted against the use of the 2012 voter ID card to register in any new voter registration exercise,” Abu said at a press conference yesterday.
The two, Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako, were the plaintiffs who, in June 2014, instituted an action at the SC against the EC and the Attorney General, in the famous Abu Ramadan versus EC case.
The plaintiffs prayed for a declaration, among others, that the use of the National Health Insurance Card as proof of qualification to register as a voter was unconstitutional, void and of no effect.
The SC in its ruling granted the plea of the plaintiffs.
Addressing the press conference, Abu Ramadan noted that the EC was right in excluding the use of the existing voter ID cards as proof of qualification to register in the upcoming registration exercise.
“The EC was in this matter and must be fully aware that Supreme Court has outlawed the use of the voters ID card acquired under C.I. 72.
“We are not surprised, not in the least, that the EC has excluded the existing voters ID card in the new C.I. before Parliament,” Abu remarked.
The main opposition political party, National Democratic Congress (NDC), is raising much fuss over the decision by the EC to exclude the use of the current voter ID card as proof of evidence.
Again, the party has made several hassles since the EC announced its intentions to compile a new voter register.
The party has objected to the EC’s decision on countless platforms, including peaceful demonstrations, citing, among others, that the current register had been used for several elections, including the recent district assembly elections and the referendum.
However, Abu Ramadan questioned: “To what end must this unconstitutionality be allowed to continue? Does the fact that we have been using the register to vote make it right? Does the consistent usage of this problematic register cure its inaccuracies?”
Abu applauded the EC and fully threw his weight behind it as it embarked on the registration exercise, “unless they go off track,” he added.
According to him, when the new C.I. before Parliament is matured and passed, and no new register is compiled, there would be no register for voters.
“… So, the EC is very right in its demand for a new voter register to enable us have elections,” he opined.
The post Supreme Court has barred EC from using 2012 voters ID card – Abu Ramadan appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS