Fresh suit against EC's rejection of birth certificate for voter registration

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Jun - 12 - 2020 , 17:25

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.

Mr Takyi-Banson in his writ is also seeking a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 45(a) of the 1992 Constitution, the EC’s constitutional and statutory mandate to compile the register of voters for the conduct and supervision of all public elections and referenda is spent saving only the power reserved in the Commission to revise and expand the register at such periods as may be determined by law.

He wants the Supreme Court to declare that the EC’s decision to compile a new register of voters is inconsistent with and a violation of Article 45(a) of the 1992 Constitution.

He also wants the Supreme Court to further declare that Regulation 1 (3) of the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 126) is inconsistent with and violates the provisions of Article 42 and 45 (e( of the 1992 Constitution to the extent that it excludes Birth Certificates issued to Ghanaians as a mode of identification and/or establishing qualification to be registered in the register of voters and also excludes the existing Voter Identification Card as a mode of identification and/or establishing qualification to be registered in the register of voters.

Any other order or orders as the court may deem fit is also part of the reliefs he is seeking.