The Supreme Court of Ghana has dismissed an application filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that sought a review of the apex court’s verdict on the compilation of a new register of voters.
The dismissal of the case followed the lead counsel for the party, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, failed to move the party’s application.
Mr Tsikata decided not to move the application because the party received the Electoral Commission (EC) response to its case while in court.
According to Mr Tsikata, he had not had the time to go through the EC’s response, hence could not speak to it.
The biggest opposition party applied for the review with regard to the apex court’s determination that a birth certificate and the old voter ID card cannot be used as breeder documents for the compilation of a new voter ID card being undertaken by the Electoral Commission.
In a statement issued by the NDC bearing the signature of its National Communication Officer Sammy Gyamfi, the party said the “Supreme Court in several cases, arrived at its conclusions without due and proper regard for existing laws, and in many cases, without the requisite supporting evidence.”
It said “with respect to the birth certificate in particular, its relevance for public purposes such as obtaining a passport is very well-established. Indeed, it is not only in Ghana that this is the case. Throughout the world, the keeping of official records of birth and the use of the resulting birth certificate for public purposes is well established.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision that holders of existing voter ID cards cannot use same as a source of identification, is also a matter of great concern to us as a political party. It is our view, that holders of existing voter ID cards have acquired rights based on the fact that the Electoral Commission have gone through a process of identifying them, ascertaining their ages and nationality and has adjudged them to be eligible to vote.”
Read the full statement below:
NDC APPLIES FOR REVIEW OF SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT ON EXCLUSION OF BIRTH CERTIFICATES AND EXISTING VOTER ID CARDS FROM VOTER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
This afternoon, the National Democratic Congress caused to be filed an application for the review of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case involving the current voter registration exercise, which judgment was delivered on 25th June 2020.
As a political party, when the judgment was delivered, we did not hide our disappointment, but we were powerless to do anything about it at the time because the reasons for the judgment were not given until 15th July 2020, 20 days after the judgment was announced.
After that, our lawyers went to work; and true to our expectation, they have come back with a number of very cogent reasons why they think the judgment of the Supreme Court was wrong.
We have therefore placed our concerns before the Supreme Court for it to take a second look at its own judgment, and if possible, change its position on matters that we think are fundamental to citizenship and the right to vote in this country.
Our lawyers have raised many serious issues with the judgment of the Supreme Court. We respectfully hold the view, that the Supreme Court in several cases, arrived at its conclusions without due and proper regard for existing laws, and in many cases, without the requisite supporting evidence.
Two issues however stand out among our complaints.
1. We take a critical view of the holding of the Supreme Court that our birth certificates are worthless as proof of our identity, and thereby, our nationality. As our lawyers have stated in their arguments in the review application; “…….Registering births and deaths has been a basic element in official national record keeping for decades. The certificates resulting from these registers are well known and, with respect to the birth certificate in particular, its relevance for public purposes such as obtaining a passport is very well established. Indeed, it is not only in Ghana that this is the case. Throughout the world, the keeping of official records of birth and the use of the resulting birth certificate for public purposes is well established.”
A Ghanaian birth certificate shows one’s date and place of birth, age, parentage, and nationality; precisely the kind of information that would be required for any form of voter registration.
Our lawyers have also pointed out that “Because the connecting factors relevant to determination of nationality are primarily place of birth and parentage, birth certificates are definitely evidence of great importance for citizenship determination.”
This is particularly so, as the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana has enacted a law, National Identity Register (Amendment) Act, 2017, Act 950, which affirms the efficacy of a birth certificate as an identification document that proves citizenship. We therefore find it surprising and worrying, that the Supreme Court would hold that “A birth certificate is not a form of identification”. 2. The Supreme Court’s decision that holders of existing voter ID cards cannot use same as a source of identification, is also a matter of great concern to us as a political party. It is our view, that holders of existing voter ID cards have acquired rights based on the fact that the Electoral Commission have gone through a process of identifying them, ascertaining their ages and nationality and has adjudged them to be eligible to vote.
This data appears on the face of each voter ID card and in our view, should constitute prima facie identification of its holder for the purpose of any fresh voters’ registration exercise. What surprises us is that, it is the same Electoral Commission which issued these cards at high expense to the state, that is now alleging strenuously, with hardly any proof, that its own process of issuing those cards was so poisoned that those cards should not be accepted as proof of identity. This we maintain is arbitrary, whimsical and capricious.
These exceptional circumstances, are what have necessitated the present application for the review of the judgment of the Supreme Court on this matter.
As a key stakeholder in Ghana’s electoral process and our constitutional democracy as a whole, we feel deeply concerned about holding democratic institutions accountable. And accountability, in our considered opinion, includes not allowing democratic institutions to indulge in self-deprecation as it is the case now with the Electoral Commission. Again, it is our conviction, that as a Political party which birthed this fourth republican democracy, we owe it a duty to God and country, to use every available legal opportunity, to defend and protect citizenship rights provided under same. Hence, our determination to pursue this all-important matter to its logical conclusion. May posterity be our judge.
Signed.
Comrade Sammy Gyamfi
National Communication Officer
