2012 elections: Convicts to vote, Thursday November 10, 2011, Front
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, has given the assurance that prisoners will be allowed to vote in the 2012 general election.
DR Afari-Gyan told the Daily Graphic that the prisoners would be registered just like any other Ghanaian during the biometric registration process next year.
The EC Chairman’s assurance is a U-turn from the previous stand that the Commission could not guarantee the inmates the right to vote because there were more technical issues that needed to be addressed.
The comment comes on the heels of the call by President J.E.A Mills to Electoral Commission to take the necessary steps to comply with the Supreme Court ruling which gave prisoners the right to vote.
President Mills on Tuesday said the government would resource the EC to ensure that prisoners voted in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling in May, 2010, declared null and void section 7(5) of the PNDC Law 285, which imposes a residency requirement on prisoners as condition for voting, thereby giving the nod to close to 18,000 convicted and remand prisoners in the country’s jails the right to vote.
The court directed the EC to come out with a Constitutional Instrument (CI) to create the legal framework that would ensure the inclusion of prisoners in the voters register for the next general election.
The court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, unanimously upheld applications filed on behalf of remand and convicted prisoners by two legal practitioners, Mr Ahumah Ocansey and Mr Kojo Graham of the Centre of Human Rights and Civil Liberties (CHURCIL).
The two legal practitioners had, in separate suits which were consolidated by the court on November 12, 2009, prayed the court to declare as null and void sections of PNDC Law 284 which barred remand and convicted prisoners from voting. The Attorney-General and the EC were jointly sued.
Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees all citizens of Ghana who are 18 years and above and are of sound mind the right to be registered to enable them to vote in all public elections and referenda.
The court, therefore, declared as void Section 7(5) of Law 284, since it was inconsistent with Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution. It further stated that in order not to stampede the process and avoid hasty decisions on the part of the EC, it was necessary for the EC to come up with rules and regulations to regulate the registration exercise.
Commenting on the category of prisoners who would be registered, Dr Afari-Gyan said all but persons who had committed electoral offences would be allowed to register and vote. “Even those in condemned cells will be allowed to register and vote so far as they have not committed electoral fraud because they are also Ghanaians,” he stated.
He said the prisoners would be allowed to vote in the presidential election but stated that for the parliamentary slot, the commission was yet to take a firm decision.
In other jurisdictions, including Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, there are no forms of electoral ban on prisoners.
Countries such as the Republic of Ireland have elaborate arrangements which allow prisoners to exercise their franchise in elections. Ireland, for instance, in 2006 passed legislation enabling all prisoners to vote by post in the constituency where they would ordinarily live.
However, in other countries severe restrictions make it very difficult in practice for offenders to vote. In Cyprus, for example, an inmate must happen to be out of prison on the day of the elections, and in Slovakia, prisoners can legally vote but no provision is made to allow them to do so.
Currently in 13 European countries, electoral ban depends on the crime committed or the length of the sentence. Italy, Malta and Poland, for example, ban those deemed to have committed serious crimes. In Greece, anyone sentenced to life receives a permanent voting ban.
Touching on the calls by some political parties to make verification of the biometric register a must, Dr Afari-Gyan maintained that the EC could not guarantee a verification of the biometric register because of financial constraints. He, however, stated that if the majority of Ghanaians insisted that the verification process being championed by some political parties was what was needed, then “we must look for the money and do it”.
DR Afari-Gyan told the Daily Graphic that the prisoners would be registered just like any other Ghanaian during the biometric registration process next year.
The EC Chairman’s assurance is a U-turn from the previous stand that the Commission could not guarantee the inmates the right to vote because there were more technical issues that needed to be addressed.
The comment comes on the heels of the call by President J.E.A Mills to Electoral Commission to take the necessary steps to comply with the Supreme Court ruling which gave prisoners the right to vote.
President Mills on Tuesday said the government would resource the EC to ensure that prisoners voted in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling in May, 2010, declared null and void section 7(5) of the PNDC Law 285, which imposes a residency requirement on prisoners as condition for voting, thereby giving the nod to close to 18,000 convicted and remand prisoners in the country’s jails the right to vote.
The court directed the EC to come out with a Constitutional Instrument (CI) to create the legal framework that would ensure the inclusion of prisoners in the voters register for the next general election.
The court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, unanimously upheld applications filed on behalf of remand and convicted prisoners by two legal practitioners, Mr Ahumah Ocansey and Mr Kojo Graham of the Centre of Human Rights and Civil Liberties (CHURCIL).
The two legal practitioners had, in separate suits which were consolidated by the court on November 12, 2009, prayed the court to declare as null and void sections of PNDC Law 284 which barred remand and convicted prisoners from voting. The Attorney-General and the EC were jointly sued.
Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees all citizens of Ghana who are 18 years and above and are of sound mind the right to be registered to enable them to vote in all public elections and referenda.
The court, therefore, declared as void Section 7(5) of Law 284, since it was inconsistent with Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution. It further stated that in order not to stampede the process and avoid hasty decisions on the part of the EC, it was necessary for the EC to come up with rules and regulations to regulate the registration exercise.
Commenting on the category of prisoners who would be registered, Dr Afari-Gyan said all but persons who had committed electoral offences would be allowed to register and vote. “Even those in condemned cells will be allowed to register and vote so far as they have not committed electoral fraud because they are also Ghanaians,” he stated.
He said the prisoners would be allowed to vote in the presidential election but stated that for the parliamentary slot, the commission was yet to take a firm decision.
In other jurisdictions, including Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, there are no forms of electoral ban on prisoners.
Countries such as the Republic of Ireland have elaborate arrangements which allow prisoners to exercise their franchise in elections. Ireland, for instance, in 2006 passed legislation enabling all prisoners to vote by post in the constituency where they would ordinarily live.
However, in other countries severe restrictions make it very difficult in practice for offenders to vote. In Cyprus, for example, an inmate must happen to be out of prison on the day of the elections, and in Slovakia, prisoners can legally vote but no provision is made to allow them to do so.
Currently in 13 European countries, electoral ban depends on the crime committed or the length of the sentence. Italy, Malta and Poland, for example, ban those deemed to have committed serious crimes. In Greece, anyone sentenced to life receives a permanent voting ban.
Touching on the calls by some political parties to make verification of the biometric register a must, Dr Afari-Gyan maintained that the EC could not guarantee a verification of the biometric register because of financial constraints. He, however, stated that if the majority of Ghanaians insisted that the verification process being championed by some political parties was what was needed, then “we must look for the money and do it”.
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