Five political parties filed an interlocutory injunction in the Supreme Court against the Electoral Commission (EC) over the latter’s decision to restrict centres for the upcoming limited voter registration exercise to its district offices.
The parties include the National Democratic Congress (NDC); the Convention People’s Party (CPP); the All-People’s Convention (APC); the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP).
The EC has set September 12 to October 2, 2023, for the registration of new voters onto the electoral roll.
However, the Commission said the registration exercise would only take place at its 268 District Offices across the country.
The suit, filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, sought to stop the EC from conducting the limited voter registration exercise until the substantive matter was resolved.
The parties seek a true and proper interpretation of Articles 42 and 45 (a) and (e) of the Republic of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, as well as Regulation 2 sub-regulation 2(a) and (b) and Regulation 30(1) of the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations 2016-CI 91 (as amended by CI 126), which require the EC to designate registration centres suitable and accessible to every eligible Ghanaian who desired to exercise his/her constitutional right to vote.
They said the decision by the Electoral Commission to limit the 2023 continuous/limited registration of voters to its district offices as the designated registration centres instead of the electoral areas violated Articles 42 and 45 (a) and (e) of the 1992 Constitution and Regulation 2 sub-regulation 2(a) and (b) and Regulation 30(1) of the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations 2016-CI 91(as amended by CI 126).
They said the decision by the EC was unconstitutional, null and void and of no legal effect.
“A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 45(a), 45(e) and 42 of the Constitution, the decision of the 2 Defendant to undertake the 2023 limited/continuous voter registration at the District Offices of the 2 Defendant instead of undertaking same on the basis of electoral areas will result in voter suppression particularly in rural constituencies of the country, and is thus unconstitutional as it violates the rights of first-time voters to register and vote,” the writ indicated.
Meanwhile, the parties have suggested that the suit was the first in a series of actions they planned to take to compel the EC to conduct the impending limited voter registration exercise at the electoral area level to enable eligible voters to participate.
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