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Limited voter registration: EC sued
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The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has been sued at the Supreme
Court by Umar Ayuba, a Ghanaian citizen resident at Daboya in the
Savannah Region over what he described as attempts to suppress Ghanaian
voters through the limited voter registration exercise being conducted
by the EC.
The EC will embark on the exercise from
Friday, 7 June 2019 to Thursday, 27 June 2019 in all its district
offices and selected electoral areas across the country.
The plaintiff argued in the suit dated 23
May 2019 that historically, the EC has always conducted voter
registrations, including limited voter registration exercises, at
electoral areas in the various constituencies and districts of the
country but doing so at district offices will disenfranchise a large
chunk of the voter population.
According to the plaintiff, the practice of
registration at electoral areas is now law per the Public Elections
(Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2016 (CI 91).
He said the historical records show that this
approach has the advantage of bringing the voter registration exercise
closer to eligible persons who are desirous to register.
He explained that for eligible citizens
residing in remote rural constituencies of the country, the registration
at the level of the electoral area minimises the cost of travel to and
from district capitals which, in most cases, are located far from rural
dwellings.
“In the particular case of the
Daboya-Mankarigu Constituency, a first-time voter residing in Bombo, a
rural community in the Constituency, needs to travel 94 km to the
district capital, Daboya, in order to be able to register,” he added.
The plaintiff is, therefore, seeking a
declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles
45(a), 45(e) and 42 of the Constitution, the decision of the “2nd
Defendant (EC) to undertake the 2019 limited voter registration online
at the district offices of the 2nd Defendant instead of undertaking same
on the basis of electoral areas, will result in voter suppression as is
evident from the same exercise carried out in 2018, particularly in
rural constituencies of the country, and is, thus, unconstitutional as
it violates the rights of first-time voters to register and vote”.
Other reliefs being sought by the plaintiff are:
-A declaration that upon a true and proper
interpretation of article 45(a) and (e) of the Constitution, the
decision of the 2nd Defendant to undertake the 2019 limited voter
registration online at the District Offices of the 2nd Defendant instead
of undertaking same on the basis of electoral areas is inconsistent
with and in contravention of the mandate of the 2nd Defendant as
contained in article 45(a) and (e) of the Constitution and Regulation 2
Sub-regulation (2)(a) and (b) of the Public Elections (Registration of
Voters) Regulations, 2016 (CI 91);
-A declaration that upon a true and proper
interpretation of articles 42, 45(a), 45(e) and 17 of the Constitution,
the decision of the 2nd Defendant to undertake the 2019 limited voter
registration online at the District Offices of the 2nd Defendant instead
of undertaking same on the basis of electoral areas places an
unwarranted and disproportionate burden on first-time voters, especially
in rural constituencies such as Daboya-Mankarigu. The decision is thus
discriminatory and a violation of the right of first-time rural voters
to be granted equal opportunity to register to vote under articles 42
and 17 of the Constitution;
-A declaration that upon a true and proper
interpretation of articles 45(a), 45(e), 17, 23 and 296 of the
Constitution, the decision of the 2nd Defendant to undertake the 2019
limited voter registration online at the District Offices of the 2nd
Defendant instead of undertaking same on the basis of electoral areas is
an unreasonable and arbitrary exercise of its discretionary power in
relation to voter registration;
-An order of this Honourable Court directed
at the 2nd Defendant to undertake the 2019 limited voter registration
exercise in the manner prescribed by law, specifically the Public
Elections (Voter Registration) Regulations, 2016 (CI 91), in order to
avoid altogether or minimize the suppression of votes particularly in
the rural constituencies of the country;
-An order of this Honourable Court directed
at the 2nd Defendant, its employees, servants and agents to desist from
destroying any and all documents and records relating to the 2018
limited voter registration exercise conducted by the 2nd Defendant until
the final determination of this suit; and
-Any further order or orders as to this Honourable Court shall seem fit in the circumstances.
Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3FM
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