New Register: New CI Laid Before Parliament 'Senseless' - Brogya Genfi

Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Youth Organizer in the Ashanti Region, Brogya Genfi has described as senseless the new Constitutional Instrument (CI126) laid before Parliament by the Electoral Commission to amend the existing Constitutional Instrument (CI91).

According to him, the Electoral Commission (EC) wants to change the Constitutional provision in Article 45 (a) which empowers the EC to compile the register and revise it at such period as may determined by law.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Brogya Genfi explained that it will spell doom should the CI126 matures in Parliament and becomes a law as it will deny a lot of Ghanaians who are already captured in the 1995 register through to the 2012 register.

“This article in the Constitution means that the current register which was compiled in 1995 is not supposed to be changed but can be revised as indicated in the 1992 Constitution. This means that nobody can throw away that register which was done in 1995 because the constitution says we shall compile the register and revise it as such period as may be determined by law.

“The register for voters which was done in 1995 is the mother of all registers in Ghana until we change the CI91 to CI126, the current register shall stay with us forever. This is why whenever the EC wants to revise the register, it demands for the old voter’s ID so that the voter will be added to the revised register,” he argued

He maintained that the past leaders of the Electoral Commission had always included voter’s ID Cards whenever the need arises for a compilation of new register; stressing that the Constitution mandates the EC to maintain the existing register in the revision of the register.

“It will be against the law for the EC to refuse to register voters bearing the old voter’s ID Cards into a new register unless it is established that the voter is not a Ghanaian; otherwise, nobody on the 1995 register should be refused to enter into any new register as it was done in 2004. In the same way, nobody on the 2004 or the 1995 register was denied registration in the 2012 voter’s register,” he indicated.

He said that Jean Mensa and her team have made themselves the law, going against the long established register in the 1992 constitution; reiterating that all the changes which have taken place in the voter’s register did not affect the 1995 register.

The passage of CI126 into law, Brogya Genfi indicated will amount to overthrow of the Constitution by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensa; urging Parliament to quickly stop the EC by not passing the new CI before Parliament.