Amoako-Tuffuor, others sue EC over declaration of special voting results

An outspoken member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Kwame Amoako-Tuffuor and two others have dragged the Electoral Commission to the Supreme Court seeking an order to compel the commission to announce results of special voting on the same day it is held.

The trio which included Benjamin Arthur and Adreba Abrefa Damoa argued in their write that section 23 of C.I. 94, the law which regulates the conduct of the 2016 general elections, is inconsistent with Article 49 of the 1992 constitution.

Per the C.I. 94 the returning officer shall at the end of the special voting:

• Ensure that the ballot boxes are kept in safe custody after the poll has closed;
• Ensure that the ballot boxes are sealed with the seals of the Commission and any candidates who wish to add their seal; and
• Arrange for the ballot boxes to be opened at the time of the counting of the votes cast on the polling day and the ballot papers shall be counted in the same manner as those contained in the ballot boxes used on the polling day.

But Dr. Amoako-Tuffuor and his other plaintiffs are seeking a true and proper interpretation of Article 49 of the constitution “and Section 13 of the Representation of the People Law, 1992; PNDCL 284; the ballots to be cast pursuant to Regulation 23(1),(2),(3)(,(4),(5),(6),(7),(8)(9) and (10) of the Public Elections Regulations, 2016; CI.94 by special voters in the December, 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections ought to be counted and announced there and then on the date(s) of the special voting; by the presiding officers and the results at each polling station; before communicating same to the returning officer.”

The special voting is usually conducted for security operatives and persons who would usually be working on the Election Day.

Source:otecfm102.9,Kumasi.