Voter register case: NDC goes back to Supreme Court for review

The National Democratic Congress has filed an application at the Supreme Court for the review of its judgment in the voter register case, in which the court upheld the decision of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to exclude the birth certificate as a registration requirement in the ongoing voter registration exercise.

A statement under the signature of the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, indicates the party caused the application to be filed after being convinced by their lawyers’ brief that the Supreme Court was wrong in its ruling.

“We have therefore placed our concerns before the Supreme Court for it to take a second look at its own judgment, and if possible, change its position on matters that we think are fundamental to citizenship and the right to vote in this country. Our lawyers have raised many serious issues with the judgment of the Supreme Court”, the statement in parts explains why they seek a review.

According to the NDC, the Supreme Court’s delay in giving the reasons for its June 25 judgement made them “powerless to do anything”, except to express their disappointment.

In its review application, the NDC makes an argument that the Ghanaian birth certificate is just as good as the other documents the EC requires of eligible registrants, taking a critical view of the Supreme Court’s ruling that the “birth certificates are worthless as proof of identity”.

“A Ghanaian birth certificate shows one’s date and place of birth, age, parentage, and nationality; precisely the kind of information that would be required for any form of voter registration”, they argued.

The NDC also insists that the existing voters ID cards should be accepted as a proof of one’s eligibility to register.

They contend “holders of existing voter ID cards have acquired rights based on the fact that the Electoral Commission have gone through a process of identifying them, ascertaining their ages and nationality and has adjudged them to be eligible to vote.”