The Member of Parliament for Builsa South Constituency in the Upper East Region, Dr. Clement Apaak, has described the Electoral Commission’s limited voter registration exercise as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The Electoral Commission (EC) embarked on the 2023 Voters Registration exercise, which began on Tuesday, 12th September 2023, and is expected to end on Monday, 2nd October 2023. But speaking to A1 Radio, the Builsa South lawmaker, like many other Ghanaians, expressed unhappiness about the EC’s decision to restrict registration to its district and municipal offices across the country.
According to Dr. Apaak, the action by the EC is just a way to discourage and disenfranchise people who are 18 years and above from getting their names into the voter register, contrary to the constitution of Ghana.
“Let’s be honest and sincere in this country. The truth is that the electoral commission is acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally. Anyone who has read article 42 the right to vote and you juxtaposition that with what is going on it is as though the electoral commission is using our resources to work against the interest of the citizens,” he said.
Dr. Apaak also took on the Supreme Court for failing to act on the National Democratic Congress and four other political parties’ injunction application against the commission embarking on the exercise.
Five political parties—the NDC, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the All People’s Congress, the Liberal Party of Ghana, and the Great Consolidated Popular Party—filed the suit on September 7, challenging the EC’s decision to restrict the upcoming voter registration exercise to its district offices.
They argue that the decision will disenfranchise many eligible voters, especially those who live in remote areas. The Supreme Court was expected to have scheduled a hearing for the application within a few days of its filing, but it has yet to do so. The court was also expected to have given a date for the application, but it has not done so yet.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|David Azure |Bolgatanga|
