Law lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Raymond Atuguba has criticized PNC’s Abu Ramadan of using the media to deceive the public about the Supreme Court ruling on a case he brought against the Electoral Commission.
According to Dr. Atuguba, even though Abu Ramadan had all the substantive reliefs he sought for dismissed, he is misleading the public that he won the case.
Giving a blow by blow account of the ruling, Dr. Atuguba, who is a former Executive Secretary to President Mahama, said the ruling has been skewed.
“The judgment is very, very clear but a section of Ghanaians are trying to fit the judgment into their own idiosyncrasies,” he explained, “so if someone believes that everyone whose name is in the register by virtue of an NHIS card should be out of it, they try to fit the judgment that way, and anyone who believes that those people should not be disenfranchised tries to fit the judgment that way”
Abu Ramadan, a former Youth Organiser of the CPP, and an NPP activist Evans Nimako had wanted the Supreme Court to among other reliefs: declare the register of voters unconstitutional, null and void, and therefore of no effect; to delete the names of all persons on the voter register who registered NHIS identity card as a means of identification; to automatically delete the names of all persons on the voter register who registered with the NHIS identity card as a means of identification and an order that the Electoral Commission to validate the Voter’s Register.
After the Supreme Court ruling on May 5, there have been varied interpretations to the court’s declarations with Abu Ramadan and the Electoral Commission interpreting it differently.
For instance, the Electoral Commission says the court did not ask them to delete names of persons who registered with NHIS card from the register. The Commission’s understanding is that the register should rather be cleaned to ensure that persons who are not qualified to vote do not get the chance to do so in the 2016 elections.
Abu Ramadan who sharply disagrees on that point has indicated his intention to head back to court to get it to compel the EC to delete names of persons who registered with the NHIS card from the voter’s register.
But Dr. Atuguba told Joy FM’s Newsfile Saturday that “the Ghanaian public needs to be assisted to understand the judgement of the Supreme Court in the recent Abu Ramadan case”.
Days ago he wrote an article which he emphasized:
“1. The plaintiffs LOST their substantive case.
“2. The Supreme Court DID NOT declare the register of voters unconstitutional, null and void, and therefore of no effect.
“3. The Supreme Court DID NOT order that the names of all person on the register of voters, who registered with the NHIS identity card as a means of identification stand deleted.
“4. The Supreme Court DID NOT order the Electoral Commission to automatically delete the names of all person on the voter register who registered with the NHIS identity card as a means of identification.
“5. The Supreme Court DID NOT order the Electoral Commission to validate the voter register.
“6. The Supreme Court UNDERLINED the Constitutional independence of the Electoral Commission.”
“The plaintiffs went on air to say we won our case…think about my Aunty in the village, hearing Abu Ramadan saying we won our case, when Abu Ramandan tells people that he won his case, what people will hear is that the voter’s register has been declared unconstitutional and that a new voter’s register has to be compiled or the voter’s register has to be validated,” he told Newsfile.
He reiterated that all the substantive orders Abu Ramadan went to court for were dismissed, but he is only riding on the back of declaratory reliefs to deceive the public that he won the case: Declaratory relief refers to a judgment of a court which determines the rights of parties without ordering anything be done or awarding damages
Story by Isaac Essel | tv3network.com | Ghana
