The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sued the Electoral Commission over it’s decision to organise voter registration exercise in Senior High Schools (SHS).
The EC commenced a two-day registration at premises of the various senior high schools beginning today, July 10, 2020.
Officials of the NDC had insisted that the exercise being embarked on by the EC in the Senior High Schools is illegal since the said schools have not been gazetted as centres being used for the national exercise.
The opposition party wants the court to declare it “illegal and wrongful.”
“A declaration that it is illegal and wrongful for the Defendant to conduct registration at any place including campuses of a Senior High School which was not contained in the Gazette and notification in accordance with C.I 91.”
“A declaration that any such registration of voters including students that take place at any ungazetted and unpublished registration centre including Senior High School campuses is null and void and of no legal effect,” the NDC requested as part of its reliefs.
The Opposition party is also seeking for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Electoral Commission “whether by itself, officers, agents or any other functionary personnel from carrying out registration of voters in any Senior High School or place not duly gazetted or published in accordance with C.I 91 as amended.”
The decision to commence registration in SHSs was communicated to political parties after an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Thursday, July 9, 2020.
The development was after some members of the public raised concerns about the exclusion of SHS students from the ongoing voter registration exercise.
It had been argued that with most of the students camped in their various schools and a rule for all students to remain within the school premises and no visitor entertained, eligible students may be disenfranchised.
