THE ELECTORAL Commission (EC) has been dragged to the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court, to compel it to abandon the current existing Voters Register ahead of the 2016 general election.
Two individuals, the former National Youth Organiser of the People's National Convention (PNC), Abu Ramadan and one Mr. Evans Nimako, have filed a suit at the Apex Court to declare the current Voters Register “null and void.”
In a writ filed in court yesterday, the plaintiffs are praying the court to set aside, “the 2012 Voters Register and compel the EC to compile a fresh register before any new public election or referendum is conducted in this country.”
The applicants are also seeking among other things “a declaration that the 2012 Voters Register which contains the name of persons who have not established qualification to be registered is inconsistent with article 42 and 45(a) and therefore unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.”
The opposition New Patriotic Party has been at the forefront of calls for a new register ahead of the 2016 polls.
The EC is yet to take a final decision having put together a Committee of eminent Ghanaians to probe the concerns that have been raised about the existing register and make recommendations.
2016 EC budget reduced
The latest suit comes in the wake of massive cut in the 2016 Election budget. Parliament on Monday approved the sum of GH¢ 826, 897,772.00 for the EC to implement its routine and electoral programmes in 2016 and for the conduct of the 2016 general election.
The amount falls short of the GH¢1,202, 755, 909.00 that the commission requested for its operations next year and leaves a funding gap of GH¢375,858,137, representing 31.7 per cent of the total requirement of the EC.
While approving the budget, Parliament took note of the statements made by officials of the EC that the funding gap would have a devastating impact on the conduct of the election.
It, therefore, urged the Ministry of Finance to, given the importance of the conduct of a successful election to the peace and stability of the country, look for avenues for getting additional funding for the successful conduct of the election.
It also advised the EC to look for innovative ways of further cutting down the budget for the general election without compromising their integrity.
Breakdown of the budget
While the EC demanded GH¢ 39.50 million for compensation in 2016, it was allocated only GH¢ 15.20 million.
With regards to goods and services, the commission said it required GH¢ 1.1 billion, but got only GH¢ 800.00 million.
Crabbe submits report to EC
Meanwhile, the five-member committee set up by the EC to look into concerns over the credibility of the voters register has submitted its report to the electoral body. The committee led by respected statesman His Lordship Professor V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe was formed following a series of protestations against the current register.
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