Accra: EC’s response to SC ruling ‘mind-boggling’ – Lawyer Nii Ayikoi Otoo

Nii Ayikoi Otoo

Nii Ayikoi Otoo, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has described as “mind-boggling,” the Electoral Commission's response to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the voters’ register. According to the lawyer, he finds the EC’s response surprising, especially when it had vehemently refused to remove names in the register when the issue came up some months ago, insisting “they cannot disenfranchise anybody.” Following the Supreme Court’s ruling ordering the EC to delete names of persons whose names were captured on the nation’s electoral roll using the National Health Insurance card as a form of identification, the EC responded by saying that it had already initiated processes to effect the recommendations.

The Supreme Court, among others, also charged the EC to further delete names of deceased persons and minors on the register. A Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Georgina Opoku Amankwa while addressing the press said, although the Commission was yet to get a copy of the full judgment, it already has a programme in place to institute what the court has ordered.

Mrs. Opoku Amankwa said, “the good thing is that what the Supreme Court is asking the EC to do is something that we have already put in place a programme to deal with. The nitty gritty are yet to be found out in the judgment itself which we are yet to be furnished with.”

 But Ayikoi Otoo, a former Attorney General on Eyewitness News said, “…when the issue broke out, we all spoke about it, we thought the EC would see reason, but the EC kept saying that they cannot disenfranchise anybody or for that matter even know how people registered for them to know which registrant actually used the National Health Insurance Scheme card.

 “So it is now mind-boggling why they are now telling us that they are already doing that, and now they know how to go about it,” he added. The lawyer also observed that adhering to the Supreme Court’s ruling will be a tough job for the EC. “It's going to be a tall order, but they claim they can do that so let’s see how it goes but the judgment is sound in my opinion.”