Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court has dismissed an action brought against the Electoral Commission (EC) by four applicants, seeking an order to compel the EC to make public some 32,621 names it found to have multiply registered.

The court preside over by Justice Gifty Adjei Addo refused the application on the grounds of technicalities, indicating that the application was void since the court’s jurisdiction was not properly invoked. 

Therefore, he said “the entire action fails and same is hereby dismissed.”

Meanwhile, the applicants- Alex Mintah, Rockson Konde, Vivian Abla Kpeglo  and Care For Free and Fair Elections Ghana- were praying the court that the EC’s unwillingness to grant their request for the details of the 32,621 names it claimed multiply registered.

According to them, the EC without lawful basis threatened the applicants’ fundamental human right to information guaranteed under article 21(1) of the 1992 Constitution. 

As a result, the applicants were further seeking an order of the court to enforce their “fundamental human right to information guaranteed by Article 21(1)0) of the 1992 Constitution by compelling the EC to furnish them with information specified in paragraph 20 of their affidavit.

Hitherto, the EC represented by lawyer Justin Amenuvor argued that the first, second and third applicants had not written to the EC under section 18(1) of the Right To Information (RTI) Act and the fourth applicant who has sent a letter, did not comply with the law by signing the letter.

He then submitted that the EC could not have granted the request, as it cannot identify who was seeking for the information.

The defence lawyer therefore invited the Court to dismiss the application because the applicants had failed to observe all the necessary pre-requisites of their action. 

Lawyer Justin Pwavra Terriwajah represented the applicants and Lawyer Justin Amenuvor, with Hope Agboado appeared for the EC.

By Akutu Dede Adimer