[ 2016-06-30 ]

Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood

Supreme Court to hear suit on NHIS voters’ list today
The Supreme Court will today [Thursday], June 30
2016, hear the suit in which former People’s
National Convention (PNC) Youth Organizer, Abu
Ramadan, is asking it to compel the Electoral
Commission, to delete names of voters on the
register, who got onto the electoral roll through
the use of the National Health Insurance Scheme
card as a proof of Ghanaian citizenship.

Today’s hearing follows the Electoral
Commission’s submission of what is supposed to
be the full list of persons who found their way
onto the voters’ register using the National
Health Insurance Scheme card as a proof of
Ghanaian citizenship, prior to the 2012
elections.

The Supreme Court issued an order on Thursday,
June 23, asking the Commission to respond to it in
six days with the full list, to enable it to bring
closure to the matter.

On Wednesday, the document, which is captured on
a CD, was submitted to the Supreme Court
Registry.

It is unclear yet how many names are in the
document. There were suggestions the Commission
could not meet the deadline considering the
workload involved.

Supreme Court directive

The panel of five judges in issuing the June 23
directive also asked the Commission to provide
them with a detailed plan on how they were going
to carry out the deletion and re-registration of
the same people who would be affected by the
deletion.

They also warned that they will not allow the
Electoral commission, to plunge the country into
chaos.

The Supreme Court’s six-day ultimatum became
necessary after the former People’s National
Convention (PNC) Youth Organizer, Abu Ramadan,
went back to the court to seek clarity regarding
the removal of unqualified persons on the voters
register.

Background

The apex court on May 5, 2016, asked the
Electoral Commission to expunge from the current
voters’ register the names of all persons who
registered and voted in the 2012 elections, with
the NHIS card as a proof of identity.

The ruling followed a suit filed by Abu Ramadan,
and one, Evans Nimako, who in 2014 won a lawsuit
that barred the use of NHIS cards for registration
of potential voters.

The two, among other reliefs, wanted the current
register declared inappropriate for the November
polls.

But the EC after studying the ruling said it’s
understanding did not suggest the use of any new
process to delete the names of those who
registered with NHIS cards since there are already
laid down procedures for expunging ineligible
names.

The EC’s explanation, however, angered Mr.
Ramadan who felt the Commission was disrespecting
the explicit orders of the court.

His position was further strengthened when one of
the judges who gave the May 5 ruling, stated
categorically that the ruling was clear and
unambiguous and that the EC must remove the names
of persons who registered with the NHIS card.

He subsequently got the Supreme Court to issue
the six-day ultimatum to the Commission.

Source - citifmonline.com

... go Back