Legal battle over NHIS registrants not necessary - PPP

Europa 06:40 - 08 July 2016

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 directed the Electoral Commission to with immediate effect remove the names of the 56,000 people it presented as persons who registered with NHIA cards as proof of Ghanaian citizenship.

The Progressive People’s Party has said Supreme Courts order for the Electoral Commission to remove the names of the 56,000 people it presented as persons who registered with NHIA cards as proof of Ghanaian citizenship will not ensure the sanctity of the upcoming general elections.

Addressing a news conference, General Secretary of the party, Murtala Mohammed said “both plaintiffs plea and the defendants defence arguments will not solve the problem of the voters’ register.”

He argued that the names of minors, dead persons, and foreigners far outnumber the over 56,000 names the EC submitted to the Supreme Court.

The PPP general secretary also accused the ruling National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party of being involved in the registering of minors and foreigners, with the effects being a bloated register.

The party however insisted that the only way to ensure a credible register is to use data from the National Identification Authority.

Background

The five-member panel chaired by the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday explained that the EC must give adequate notice to persons to be affected and give them the opportunity to re-register ahead of the general elections.

The Electoral Commission last Thursday submitted a list of 56,000 as people who registered with NHIS cards ahead of the 2012 general elections after an order by the Supreme Court.

But lead lawyer for the plaintiff, Frank Davies, told the Supreme Court that the figure presented to it could not be right as they knew of more people who registered with NHIS cards in some areas, but were not captured by the EC.

Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood subsequently challenged the People’s National Convention’s (PNC) Abu Ramadan to furnish the Electoral Commission with names of people who registered with NHIS cards ahead of the 2012 elections, since they argue the EC’s figure of 56,000 is fake.According to the Chief Justice, the process of providing a credible register for the elections is a shared responsibility and not one to be left solely for the EC to do.

Meanwhile, Abu Ramadan on Monday filed an application challenging the list. The Supreme Court however said the challenge by the plaintiffs of the credibility of EC's NHIS list should constitute a whole new application as the current application before them is to clarify its 5th May judgment.