The Danquah Institute (DI) has described as needless, the never-ending debate on the use of the current voter identification card as a requirement for the planned voter registration exercise.
According to the public policy analysis agency, the Supreme Court has already ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) cannot use the 2012 voter identification card as a requirement in the event of the compilation of new roll.
The Executive Director, Richard Ahiagbah, who told journalists at a press conference yesterday, blamed the EC for not being forthright with its public relations with regards to the court ruling.
Mr Richard Ahiagbah indicated that, “…this should not have happened if the EC was minded to inform Ghanaians that the voter ID card’s exclusion, as a form of qualification, is directed by the Supreme Court of Ghana.”
He was referring to the famous case of Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako versus the EC, in which the court issued an order to perpetually injunct the EC from using the current voter’s ID card.
Mr. Ahiagbah said the language of the court was plain and simple, and called on the EC to sharpen its public relations and engage Ghanaians “candidly and timeously.”
Through the very tensed argument, mainly between the political parties and the EC, cost for the compilation, the abnormal times the novel Coronavirus has brought, among others, have been prominent.
Whereas some civil society organisations and members of anti-corruption groups raised issues with the procurement system, the political parties said it was a clandestine move by the electoral body to rig the 2020 elections for the sitting government.
However, the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute urged the EC to mainly engage and objectively assess the recommendations put forth by recognised groups.
Meanwhile, he added: “Given the overriding constitutional, legal and process irregularities advanced thus far, we believe that the EC can achieve a consensus with all interest groups to engage the concerns about cost, procurement, technical, time and COVID-19 as part of the EC’s process to compile a new voters’ register.”
He believed that the concerns of cost, procurement, and time or the Covid-19 should inform and guide the safe and frugal compilation of a new register, but not preclude people from holding true to conscience, the rule of law, and the constitution.
He concluded that the case for a new register is inevitable on constitutional and legal grounds, and advised the EC to be guided by Supreme Court’s interpretation that mandates the EC to compile a register.
The post Debate on use of voter card needless -DI appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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