Supreme Court Consolidates Voters’ Registration Cases Against EC

Supreme Court Consolidates Voters’ Registration Cases Against ECThe Supreme Court, has in a unanimous decision consolidated the two cases filed against the Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) voters’ registration exercise.

The court has also asked the plaintiff in the second suit, Mr Mark Takyi-Banson to file his statement of case by close of Monday, June 22, 2020.

As a result of the consolidation, the Apex Court has indefinitely adjourned its judgement in the case filed by the NDC which was slated for June 23 this year for judgement.

At the hearing today, (Friday, June 19, 2020) a seven-member panel of the Apex Court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Annin Yeboah, adjourned the case to Wednesday (June 23, 2020) after it had consolidated the two cases following an application by a Deputy A-G, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame for consolidation of the suits on grounds that the two suits “arrives substantially as the same set of action.”

NDC’s petition

Prior to the announcement of the date of the registration exercise, the NDC rank and file had challenged the Commission’s constitutional mandate to hold the mass registration exercise and compile a new voters’ register, at the Supreme Court.

The party also seeks declaration on the constitutionality of the EC to exclude the voters’ ID card as part of the identification requirements for the exercise.

The NDC however dropped their case on whether or not the EC should conduct the exercise but their petition on the exclusion of the voters’ ID card still holds before the law court.

Some political critics believe the NDC’s decision to go for their relief on the voters’ ID card while they drop their case on the registration exercise supports the EC’s decision to compile a new voters’ register.

Fresh suit against EC

A native of Breman-Kokoso in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District of the Central Region, Mark Takyi-Banson has initiated a fresh challenge at the Supreme Court in relation to the Electoral Commission’s (EC) intention to use the Ghana Card and the Ghanaian passport as the only identification documents for the upcoming mass voters’ registration exercise.

In his writ filed against the EC and the Attorney-General (A-G) at the Supreme Court on Friday, June 12, 2020, Mr Takyi-Banson is seeking an order directed at the EC to include a birth certificate and the existing voters’ ID card as evidence of identification in the upcoming mass voter registration exercise.

Represented by Cosmas Mweyang Anpengnuo of Bayong Law Consult in Kokomlemle, Accra as his counsel, the plaintiff filed the writ on Friday, June 12, 2020.

He also wants the Supreme Court to order the EC to include under Regulation 1 (3) of the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 126), the existing voter identification card issued by the EC as evidence of identification.