Supreme Court Blocks NHIS card voters

By Maame Agyeiwaa Agyei ([email protected])

The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to take immediate steps to clean the voter's register because the current one is not reasonably credible.

According to the five member panel, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood, the current register, which contains names of deceased persons and people who registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards makes it reasonably not accurate and credible.

The panel, therefore, tasked the EC to take immediate steps to delete the names of all deceased persons, as well as those who registered with the NHIS cards from the register.

The highest court of the land, however, instructed the EC to ensure that all the NHIS card holders whose names would be deleted are given the opportunity to re-register.

Although the SC did not declare the current register null and void by its decision, as applied by the applicants in their suit, the court, however, held that the voters register should be cleaned.

Nonetheless, the court in its ruling did not give specific time frame for the EC to carry out the cleaning exercise.

Applicants to ensure EC carries out Order
Briefing the media after proceedings, the lawyer for the applicants, Nana Asante Bedietuo said, although the court did not grant all their reliefs, they were extremely happy about the outcome, saying they will communicate with the EC to ensure that it complies with the order.

He said: “The court declined to grant us the orders we were asking for two reasons and the orders were that, the register be declared unconstitutional on the basis of the inaccuracy and on the basis that it is incredible.

“Because, on the issue of deceased persons, the court didn't think the numbers were large enough to render it unconstitutional, and in respect of the persons who used NHIS cards, the court said it could not tell the proper percentage of those people in order to determine whether it tinted the entire register”, he said, adding that but the SC found that if the names remain on the register, it is not accurate or credible.

Nana Bedietuo continued that as the first step, they will contact the EC to ascertain what steps they are taking immediately because these are orders, if not obeyed it constitutes a high crime under the constitution.

According to him, the EC had already informed the court that they are taking such good steps to clean the register and that they had a plan, or a proposal that they presented to the court, which they can use to clean the register, but in spite of that, the court issued the order.

“But to my mind, I am sure the court was not impressed with the proposals and wants the register to be cleaned immediately. So we would want to know because the previous proposals did not necessarily include deletion of the names of people with NHIS cards and deceased persons immediately.”

The EC had also informed the court about the steps they can use to delete the names of those who used the NHIS cards, because they can identify the names and that is what he and his clients will be seeking to know.

Nana Bedietuo added that, if his clients are satisfied with the steps they are taking to achieve the desired result, then they will not have any problem with the EC.

Convener of Let My Vote Count Alliance, David Asante

According to the convener of the pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA), David Asante, who was present at the hearing, he said it was a rather interesting dimension, having the names of individuals which got onto the register through the use of the NHIS cards.

He added that the development gives his group a more serious fear into the 2016 elections.

He said: “We used to think the voters register was only bloated with only 600,000 names, that is the dead persons and now the SC is ordering the EC to go and delete the names of those who used NHIS cards and deceased persons because they know them.”

He lamented about the whole issue, in respect of how many people that are to be deleted, making the situation murkier, but was glad the SC decision yesterday has upheld ours, and not only the court of public opinion.

He appealed to the EC to carry out the order openly for all to see. “An order of the SC must not be carried out covertly; it must be done openly for all stakeholders to be satisfied.”

Brief Background
The former National Youth Organizer of the People's National Convention, Abu Ramadan and one other, Evans Nimako, proceeded to the highest court of the land to seek among other reliefs the current voters register, declared inappropriate for the November 7 polls, a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 45(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 (hereinafter, the “constitution”) the mandate of the Electoral Commission of Ghana to compile the register of the voters implies a duty to compile, fair and transparent register.

Also a declaration that the 2012 Voters Register which contains the names of persons who have not established qualification to be registered is inconsistent with Article 42 and 45 (a) and, therefore, unconstitutional, null, void and no effect.