NDC & 4 others sue EC over limited voter registration

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and four other parties, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), All Peoples Congress (APC), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), and the Great Consolidated Peoples Party (GCPP), have filed a joint lawsuit against the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana in the Supreme Court.
 
The suit is in response to the EC’s decision to restrict centres for the upcoming Limited Voter Registration Exercise to their District Offices, which the parties consider unlawful and unreasonable.
 
The plaintiffs expressed concern that the EC’s decision could potentially deprive many eligible voters of their right to be registered and to vote in public elections.
 
They have, therefore, applied for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the EC from proceeding with the announced limited voter registration exercise from the 12th of September 2023 until the substantive matter is resolved.
 
The parties say this is the first of a series of actions to compel the EC to conduct the impending exercise at the electoral area level. They believe this will give all eligible voters access to the process in line with the letter and spirit of Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, Regulation 2(1)(2) of C.I. 91, and the EC’s time-tested practices.

The leader and flag bearer of the NDC, John Mahama, in a Facebook Live session on Wednesday, cautioned the Commission against its plan to limit the exercise to its district offices, reminding it that every Ghanaian has a right to vote, which right is only affirmed when one has a voter ID. He, therefore, appealed for a change in order not to disenfranchise eligible voters.