Lawyer sues EC over voter's register

A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Bafo has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) at the Supreme Court to challenge the eligibility of some of the names on the current voters register to be used for this year’s general elections.

Mr. Bafo, who is a legal practitioner, is seeking ten reliefs which include an order compelling EC to compile a new and credible voter’s register to be used in the 2016 general elections.

The Supreme Court has thus ordered the EC and the Attorney General to file a statement of defense within 14 days after the plaintiff filed the suit against the two.

Below is the reliefs sought by Kwame Bafo:

a. A declaration that the current national voters’ register compiled by the defendant and intended to be used for the 2016 general elections in Ghana is bloated and hence unfit for use in the 2016 general elections.

b. A declaration that the current national voters’ register compiled by the defendants and intended to be used for the 2016 general elections in Ghana contains names of foreigners, minors, deceased person’s and other persons who are constitutionally ineligible to vote in the 2016 general elections.

c. A declaration that the current national voters’ register compiled by the defendant and intended to be used for the 2016 general elections in Ghana contains names of persons who used National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Cards to register and hence the current voters’ register is not credible or fit to be used for the 2016 general’s elections.

d. A declaration that the findings by the five-member committee chaired by VCRAC Crabbe and constituted or formed by the defendant are true reflection of the weaknesses/laws inherent in the current national voters’ register compiled by the defendant and intended to be used for the 2016 general elections in Ghana.

e. A declaration that a revision by the defendant of the national voters’ register to get rid of the names of foreigners, minors, deceased persons and other persons who are ineligible to vote does not constitute an arbitrary and discriminatory application of the electoral laws of Ghana.

f. An order of interim injunction restraining the Election Committee recently inaugurated by the defendant from playing any role whatsoever in relation to the impending national elections until the final determination of this suit.

g. An order of interim injunction restraining the defendant, her assigns, agent, privies, officials or any other person(s) or bodies acting through the defendant from registering voters or conducting the proposed limited registration of voters slated for 18/03/2016 until the final determination of this suit.

h. A declaration that, the current national voters’ register compiled by the defendant and intended to be used for the 2016 general elections in Ghana is not credible and hence null and void.

i. An order compelling the defendant to compile a new and credible national voters’ register for use in the 2016 general elections in Ghana.

j. Further order or orders as this Honourable Supreme Court may deem fit to make.

Story by: Michael Creg Afful

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