Limited voters registration exercise will begin on Tuesday – EC

Despite an injunction request by the National Democratic Congress and four other political parties, the Electoral Commission (EC) has declared that it would carry out the restricted voter registration process on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.

This information was presented in a statement released by the EC on September 11, 2023.

The EC emphasized in its statement that the registration process will be carried out at each of its 268 district offices.

“The Electoral Commission wishes to inform the General Public that the 2023 Voters Registration Exercise begins on Tuesday, 12th September 2023 and ends on Monday, 2nd October 2023.

“Persons who have attained the age of 18 years since the last registration exercise and those who for one reason or the other did not register in 2020, should visit the District Office where they reside with either their Ghana Card or their Ghana passport. Eligible applicants who do not possess any of the identification documents listed above are required to present two (2) persons who are already registered voters to guarantee their registration”.

The lawsuit was filed on September 7 by five political parties opposing the EC’s decision to limit the upcoming voter registration drive to its district offices, including the NDC, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the All People’s Congress, the Liberal Party of Ghana, and the Great Consolidated Popular Party.

They contend that the choice will result in the disenfranchisement of many qualified voters, particularly those who reside in rural regions.

Within a few days of the application’s submission, the Supreme Court was supposed to have set a hearing for it, but it has not yet done so.

Although it was anticipated, the court has not yet set a date for the application.

John Dramani Mahama, a former president, lashed out at the Supreme Court on Monday for delaying the hearing for an injunction request that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and four other political parties had made against the Electoral Commission (EC) regarding the limited voter registration.

Mr. Mahama in a Facebook post stated that “Contrary to the time-honored practice of the Registrar of the Supreme Court giving dates for applications to be moved, the Registrar has, as of this afternoon, refused to give a date for the application for interlocutory injunction filed against the Electoral Commission (EC) in relation to the Commission’s decision to limit the upcoming voter registration exercise to its district offices only.

“The writ and the injunction application were duly filed at the Registry of the Supreme Court on Thursday, 7th September 2023, at 2:50 p.m.

“The Registrar informed the applicants’ representatives that they were awaiting the date to be given by the Chief Justice, who was outside the jurisdiction at the time. The Chief Justice returned and travelled to Cape Coast for the Bar Conference. As I write, the applicants’ representatives are still waiting at the registry of the Supreme Court”.