Court throws out suit against EC
A Human Rights High Court on Monday dismissed a writ seeking to challenge the Electoral Commission (EC) over the credibility of the Current Voters Register.
The court presided over by Mrs Justice Gifty Adjei Addo also ruled that all the reliefs sought by the Jacob Osei Yeboah aka JOY, an independent presidential candidate for the December polls and two others failed.
The court however directed that parties to contact the court”s registry for a copy of its reasons on 1st of November 2016.
It awarded cost of GH¢500 against the independent presidential candidate and the Joint Alliance Youth Movement, a civil society organisation and the Macho Men for Good & Justice who were the plaintiffs in the matter.
The three applicants had dragged the EC to court seeking Judicial Review and an order of Mandamus claiming the current Register contained names of the dead.
The applicants contended that with 4.5 per cent of the voters believed to be dead and their names not removed from the BVR, there was the high probability that those can be manipulated to decide the election results and hence, the need for order for their removal.
According to plaintiff’s lawyer, Constitutional Instrument (CI) 91 set out to regulate the creation of credible biometric voter register, adding the law in its present form was inadequate for the work it was designed for.
Counsel held that the absence of a finger print identification of a voter constituted inadequacy.
Mr Nti further held that the CI 91 had no regulations to challenge the participation of the dead/deceased in the electoral process.
The applicants were therefore seeking an order to compel the EC to delete the deceased, minors and any “undesirables” through Exhibition Verification process.
They were also seeking an order to compel the EC to take steps to amend the CI 91, Regulation 23 (2a) within a reasonable time before the country goes to the Polls and an order compelling the Commission to re-open or extend the Exhibition for another Seven days to give opportunity for intended voters to verify their names in order to cast their votes on the day of the elections.
Source: GNA