The planned second round of voters registration in Ghana scheduled for Thursday, October 1, 2020 is in limbo as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) sues the Electoral Commission over the exercise.
According to the main opposition party, the exercise will be in breach of laws governing registration exercises in the country. The party argues that the Commission has not published in the gazette the 21 days’ notice of the planned exercise to the political parties and the general public.
“Counsel for and on behalf of the plaintiff/applicant herein praying for an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the defendants/respondents herein, their assigns, agents, privies and any persons acting upon their instructions or authorized by them or acting in furtherance of the same objective as theirs from taking steps to register voters on 1st October, 2020 or any date thereafter for any public election or from doing anything to overreach this court in the fair determination of the instant suit, pending the determination of this suit, on the grounds contained in the accompanying supporting affidavit,” the suit said in part.
“A declaration that the Electoral Commission has acted ultra vires in its attempt to reopen and/or conduct registration of voters scheduled for Thursday 1st October, 2020 when the Electoral Commission has not caused to be published in the Gazette, twenty one (21) days’ notice of this voters registration to the political parties and the general public;” the NDC averred in its statement of claim.
According to a statement released by the Commission, the one-day event will “give the opportunity to those who have attained the age of Eighteen (18) and Citizens who for one reason or the other were not able to register in the just ended Registration Exercise.”
The EC provisionally registered about 16 million people at the end of the biometric voters’ registration exercise which ended on August 9, 2020.
The registration will take place in the district offices of the Electoral Commission across the country from 7 am to 6pm.
