Electoral Commission falls again in Parliament over new Constitutional Instrument

The Electoral Commission has once again been compelled to withdraw a Constitutional Instrument (CI) it laid in parliament some two weeks ago.

The CI which was expected to give legal backing to the commission to compile a new voter register had defects which were highlighted at a meeting between the EC and the subsidiary legislation Committee on Thursday.

As a result, the commission was made to withdraw the CI and lay a new one which by law can only mature after 21 parliamentary sitting days. Parliament is due to go on recess this Friday; which means the CI will not mature before the House adjourns sine die.

Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi Nelson Rockson Dafeamekpor who is also a member of the Subsideary Legislation Committee of Parliament told Journalists that the the concerns regarding the exclusion of the existing voters’ ID card and birth certificate as a primary document for identification were raised for the EC to address.

The plan to compile a new register ahead of the general elections in December has over time sparked up a lot of controversies, with many parties and groups disagreeing to the move.

Eighteen Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have also rejected the Electoral Commission’s proposal to compile a new electoral roll ahead of the 2020 elections.

The CSOs are Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), IMANI Africa, SEND Ghana, Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), Financial Accountability and Transparency – Africa (FAT-Africa), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Youth Bridge Foundation, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Citizens Movement against Corruption (CMaC) and Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC).

These groups have cited the reason for their rejection as among other things, a waste of the taxpayers’ money.
They rather want the EC to update the current software rather than procuring a new one.

Source: Felix Nyaaba || therepublicnewsonline.com