The Supreme Court has demanded from the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana the legal basis for the refusal of the current voter identification card as part of requirements for the upcoming registration.
The Electoral Commission, which has slated the registration of a new voter register for the last week of June, was instructed by the apex court to exhibit before it the statutes backing its actions to leave out the existing voter ID card that has been in use since 2012.
The Electoral Commission’s decision to leave out the current voter ID card is being challenged by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The NDC is seeking the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution with regards to the EC rejecting an existing voters ID as a prerequisite requirement for the upcoming voter registration exercise.
The major opposition party in the county is also making the case that it is unconstitutional for the EC to reject an existing voter ID, as it will disenfranchise many Ghanaians, which is a violation of Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution.
It is the case of the NDC that, per Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution, the EC can only compile a voter registration once, and periodically revise it.
However, the seven-member panel, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, gave the order yesterday, Thursday, June 4, during the hearing of a suit by the opposition National Democratic Congress challenging the upcoming compilation of a new voters register by the EC.
Other members on the panel include justices Jones Dotse, Paul Baffoe Bonnie, Sule Gbagegbe, Samuel K Marfo-Sau, Nene Amegatcher, and Professor Ashie Kotey.
Next hearing has been slated for June 11, 2020.
The post Provide legal basis for exclusion of voter ID card –Court orders EC appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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