CHRAJ TO THE RESCUE OF PRISONERS …allow them to vote or be dragged to court
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice has reiterated its call for the Electoral Commission to put in place measures to enable Ghanaian prisoners to exercise their franchise.
Anything short of this, the Commission is encouraging Ghanaian prisoners whose rights have been infringed upon over the years to drag the EC to court.
According to the Commission, there is no law in the Constitution of Ghana that prevents Ghanaian prisoners from voting.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Royal Mail, Mr Emile Short, the Commissioner of CHRAJ, argued that the fact that someone has been incarcerated or put on remand does not mean they have forfeited their right to vote.
He indicated that Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, which talks about the right to vote, stipulates that “every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.”
Commissioner Short further pointed out that any other provision of the law that runs contrary to this Article, Article 42, in the Constitution is null and void. “This Article overrides that of Section 7(5) of PNDC Law 284, under which the Electoral Commission has refused to register prisoners for the purposes of public elections and referenda,” he added.
He insisted that the Constitution makes provision for all Ghanaians to vote and no other law can prevent that.
According Mr Short, CHRAJ has on numerous occasions advocated for prisoners to be allowed to exercise their franchise, adding, “I don’t recall ever receiving any responds from the EC or government to these calls.”
As to whether CHRAJ can compel the EC to register prisoners to vote, the Commissioner answered in the negative. He explained that the EC is an independent body just as CHRAJ and therefore the Commission can only bring the matter to their attention. He said it is up to prisoners whose rights are being infringed upon to drag the EC to court.
But when the Royal Mail got in touch with Dr Afari Gyan, the Electoral Commissioner of Ghana, for his views, he indicated that the matter is in court and as such he is waiting for the outcome before commenting on it.
Two years ago, the Electoral Commission of Ghana, refused to accede to the request of the Legal Resources Centre to have Ghanaian prisoners who are eighteen and above and of sound mind registered for the purpose of voting in public elections and referenda.
According to the EC, “This Commission has not been able to extend voting rights to prisoners largely as a result of the restriction imposed on it by Section 7(5) of PNDC Law 284 which states as follows: a person who is a patient in an establishment maintained wholly or mainly for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from mental illness or mental defectiveness or who is detained in legal custody in any place shall not be treated as resident there for the purposes of this section.”
The EC noted that though extending voting rights will come with its own challenges, they are unable to do so at this time solely as a result of legal constraint, adding that, “until this piece of legislation is amended or removed from the statute soon, we do not find our way clear in acceding to your request.”
Nevertheless, legal experts have insisted that there is no legal constraint preventing prisoners from exercising their franchise. They however argued that the reason why prisoners are not allowed to vote may be as a result of the EC and prison authorities’ inability to organize the elections at the prisons or transport prisoners to vote.
Anything short of this, the Commission is encouraging Ghanaian prisoners whose rights have been infringed upon over the years to drag the EC to court.
According to the Commission, there is no law in the Constitution of Ghana that prevents Ghanaian prisoners from voting.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Royal Mail, Mr Emile Short, the Commissioner of CHRAJ, argued that the fact that someone has been incarcerated or put on remand does not mean they have forfeited their right to vote.
He indicated that Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, which talks about the right to vote, stipulates that “every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.”
Commissioner Short further pointed out that any other provision of the law that runs contrary to this Article, Article 42, in the Constitution is null and void. “This Article overrides that of Section 7(5) of PNDC Law 284, under which the Electoral Commission has refused to register prisoners for the purposes of public elections and referenda,” he added.
He insisted that the Constitution makes provision for all Ghanaians to vote and no other law can prevent that.
According Mr Short, CHRAJ has on numerous occasions advocated for prisoners to be allowed to exercise their franchise, adding, “I don’t recall ever receiving any responds from the EC or government to these calls.”
As to whether CHRAJ can compel the EC to register prisoners to vote, the Commissioner answered in the negative. He explained that the EC is an independent body just as CHRAJ and therefore the Commission can only bring the matter to their attention. He said it is up to prisoners whose rights are being infringed upon to drag the EC to court.
But when the Royal Mail got in touch with Dr Afari Gyan, the Electoral Commissioner of Ghana, for his views, he indicated that the matter is in court and as such he is waiting for the outcome before commenting on it.
Two years ago, the Electoral Commission of Ghana, refused to accede to the request of the Legal Resources Centre to have Ghanaian prisoners who are eighteen and above and of sound mind registered for the purpose of voting in public elections and referenda.
According to the EC, “This Commission has not been able to extend voting rights to prisoners largely as a result of the restriction imposed on it by Section 7(5) of PNDC Law 284 which states as follows: a person who is a patient in an establishment maintained wholly or mainly for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from mental illness or mental defectiveness or who is detained in legal custody in any place shall not be treated as resident there for the purposes of this section.”
The EC noted that though extending voting rights will come with its own challenges, they are unable to do so at this time solely as a result of legal constraint, adding that, “until this piece of legislation is amended or removed from the statute soon, we do not find our way clear in acceding to your request.”
Nevertheless, legal experts have insisted that there is no legal constraint preventing prisoners from exercising their franchise. They however argued that the reason why prisoners are not allowed to vote may be as a result of the EC and prison authorities’ inability to organize the elections at the prisons or transport prisoners to vote.
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