The Minority Leader and MP for Tamale South has expressed disappointment in an Accra High Court for ruling in favour of National Identification Authority (NIA), to register Ghanaians in spite of Presidential Directive on public gatherings.
The Leader, Haruna Iddrisu at news conference with the Parliamentary Press Corps in response to the ruling said: “I’m profoundly disappointed in the court for this conclusion.”
He stated that, this ruling has the potential to encourage other citizens to set aside president’s order and “congregate to pray, to worship, to hold funeral or to do other things in multitude”.
The Accra High Court, March 27, 2020 dismissed an application filed against the NIA registration exercise which was ongoing in the Eastern Region.
The Court presided over by Justice Anthony Oppong said the exercise was not part of the President’s directive to prevent the spread of COVID-I9.
The Court said the applicants did not also demonstrate the right to be protected.
It therefore awarded a cost of ¢6,000.00 against the applicants.
But Mr. Iddrisu submitted that, the ruling gave an indication that, suspension of the voter registration exercise slated for April 18, 2020 has nothing to do with the coronavirus outbreak and the presidential directive.
According to him, “the EC has suspended the exercise due to the fact that, the Majority Leader has presented faulty C.I and the EC itself is not prepared enough for the work for this short period.”
He said C.I currently before a parliamentary committee chaired by an opposition MP, Dr. Dominic Ayeni has serious issues needed to be corrected if EC wanted to go ahead with exercise.
The EC has since withdrawn the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 and re-laid on Thursday, March 26, 2020.
Story by Edzorna Francis Mensah.
