Reverse indelible ink decision in 7 days –South Dayi MP writes to EC

The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has written to the Electoral Commission (EC), asking it to rescind its decision to abandon indelible ink during the 2024 polls.

Dafeamekpor has threatened to use every legal means available to compel the EC to reverse the decision should his request be ignored.

In a letter dated January 9 and addressed to the EC, the South Dayi lawmaker said the EC’s decision is unconstitutional and contravenes Article 51 of the 1992 Constitution and Regulation 33 of CI 127.

“Article 51 of the Constitution 1992 states: The Electoral Commission shall, by constitutional instrument, make regulations for the effective performance of its functions under this Constitution or any other law, and in particular, for the registration of voters, the conduct of public elections and referenda, including provision for voting by proxy.”

“In pursuance of Article 51, your Commission gazetted and brought to Parliament in 2020, a Constitutional Instrument to govern the electoral activities of the Commission. It was presented and laid, and after 21 Parliamentary sitting days, the said Constitutional Instrument matured, got serially numbered as CI 127 and has since become part of our electoral laws.”

Dafeamekpor, therefore, asked that if the decision is not reversed within 7 days upon receipt of his letter, he will employ every lawful means possible to make the electoral management body comply.

“By this letter therefore, I demand that you reverse within 7 days, upon receipt of this letter, the said administrative directive unlawfully removing the use of the indelible ink as part of our electoral authentication process as it undoubtedly amounts to a unilateral REPEAL of Regulation 33, sub-regulation 2, Paragraph (c) of Constitutional Instrument 127, 2020 without any recourse to Parliament, the only Constitutionally mandated organ of state so to do. That is tantamount to the usurpation of the legislative powers of Parliament of Ghana.”

“Be assured that if you fail to heed to this request, I shall employ every other lawful remediable steps available to me without any further recourse to you including but not limited to the invocation of the penal sanctions contained in Regulation 45 of CI 127 against you and your staff(s).”