EC literally asked to compile new list – Frank Davies

The order by the Supreme Court to the Electoral Commission (EC) to take steps to delete names of voters who registered using National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards as identification simply means the EC should compile another list of voters, Mr. Frank Davies, a private legal practitioner, has said.

The Supreme Court of Ghana on Tuesday, July 5 ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to implement the orders it gave on May 5 this year regarding voters who got registered by using the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards as an identification document.

The apex court on May 5, following a suit filed by Abu Ramadan, former National Youth Organiser of the People’s National Convention (PNC), and one Evans Nimako, against the EC, directed the election management body to delete from the register of voters the names of the dead, minors, as well as all voters who registered using their NHIS cards as a national ID. The same court had ruled almost two years ago that the NHIS cards were invalid for voter registration.

But the ruling was given several interpretations. The EC had said, after the May 5 ruling that after a cursory look at the ruling, the court did not instruct them to delete the names of NHIS cardholders who registered onto the electoral roll.

But the plaintiffs went back to the court for further clarification, following which the EC was instructed to submit to the court the list of all voters who registered using NHIS documents.

The EC complied by submitting a list of 56,000 names to the court on July 4, 2016, which paved the way for the court to rule on the matter on Tuesday, July 5.

After the hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Davies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs told Class FM’s Paa Kwesi Parker-Wilson, who was in court, that: “The orders of this court are clear enough. They (EC) should take steps to delete from the current register of voters those who registered with NHIS card. ... They have been asked literally to do another list, these are the orders of the court.”

He added: “…We are going to ensure there is compliance with what the court has ordered.”