The EC however indicated that plans were far advanced in the cleaning up of the register which would be used in the November polls. The commission in a letter indicated that ahead of the ruling, it had met with the Inter Party Advisory Committee to agree on ways to clean the register.

The Supreme in its ruling on a case brought before it by the former National Youth Organiser of the Peoples’ National Convention on Thursday May 5, ordered that the Electoral Commission delete names of persons who registered prior to the 2012 elections with their National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card.

The order also included the deletion of the names of deceased persons.

Below is the full statement from the Electoral Commission

EC COMMITTED TO A CLEAN VOTERS REGISTER

The Commission has received its certified copy of the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Abu Ramadan & Another vs. The Electoral Commission & Another.

The Commission has taken note of the Court’s orders regarding the cleaning of the existing Biometric Voters Register. We wish to assure the general public that prior to the ruling by the Supreme Court, the Commission had discussed the roadmap for cleaning the register with the political parties at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee meeting held on Friday, March 18, 2016.

At that meeting, it was agreed as follows and subject to the then-pending Supreme Court ruling:

• That the audit process as outlined by the Commission, was inclusive, transparent, and within the remit of the law.
• That the audit of the Biometric Voter’s Register will take place
• During the scheduled exhibition period after the limited Voter Registration exercise.
• That the audit will involve removal of deceased registered voters,
• Removal of multiple registrations (with the help of the AFIS software), removal of alleged minors and non-Ghanaians based on the production of evidence.
• That in accordance with the provisions of CI 91, Registered Voters
• will be given the opportunity to verify their registration details at all polling centres nationwide.
• That the Commission will use the Biometric Verification devices
• During the exhibition period for verification of registered voters.

However, in the light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, the Commission is studying the judgement and its implications on the audit mechanisms outlined above and the implications for registered voters who registered with National Health Insurance Cards. The Commission will make its views on the matter known in due course.

The Commission reiterates its respect for the Apex Court and its commitment to continue to abide by the laws of Ghana and the rulings of the Supreme Court.  Further, the Commission believes that the credibility of elections depends on a clean voters register. Therefore, all steps will be taken in line with existing law to ensure that the final register is clean and credible before the general elections on November 7.

Meanwhile, in furtherance of its commitment to transparency, the Commission has published the full judgment of the Supreme Court on its website at: www.ec.gov.gh. 

By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @NewsyMartin