The Electoral Commission has been ordered to register the opposition National Democratic Congress parliamentary candidate for Cape Coast, Dr Kwamina Minta Nyarku.
His voter Identification card was withdrawn after the just ended voter registration exercise for alleged fraud.
However, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Stephen Oppong, issued an order that compels the EC to register the University of Cape Coast lecturer.
“It is hereby ordered that a writ of mandamus be issued compelling the respondent (EC) to register the applicant (Dr Nyarku) as he has not been barred by any court of competent jurisdiction from registering,” the court held.
This was after the legal team of the politician led by Mr Godwin Tamaklo brought to the court’s attention the judicial review application filed by the plaintiff.
During the voter registration exercise, Dr Nyarku registered at the Nkanfoa Electoral Area in Cape Coast and was duly issued with a voter ID card.
However, his registration was challenged on the basis that he was not a resident of the electoral area.
Due to the challenge, the EC directed the Cape Coast parliamentary candidate to hand over the voter ID card until the completion of the challenge process.
The District Registration Review Committee upheld the challenge, which subsequently Mr Nyarku appealed to the Chief Registration Review Officer of Cape Coast North, but the appeal was dismissed.
Dr Nyarku then marched to the High Court with a judicial review application on grounds that his right to be registered as a voter was guaranteed under Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution could not be curtailed because of a challenge on his residency.
Per Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, “every citizen of Ghana of 18 years of age or above or of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections.”
He argued that his chances of becoming a Member of Parliament would be severely hampered if he was not registered as a voter because per the constitution, a person is not qualified to be MP unless “he is a citizen of Ghana, has attained the age of 21 and is a registered voter.”
“In the interest of justice and in giving effect to my constitutional right as a citizen of Ghana to be registered as a voter, I pray that the honourable court compels the respondent (EC) to register me as a voter”, he argued in his affidavit in support of his case.
