The Minority caucus in Parliament has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of breaching the constitution by abandoning the use of indelible ink in upcoming elections.
This comes after the EC announced plans to scrap the ink, traditionally applied to voters’ fingers to prevent multiple voting, in favour of more “modern” verification methods.
The EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, announced that in the district-level election and subsequent polls, there would be no need for indelible ink as part of efforts to improve the electoral process.
But during a debate on the budget estimate for the EC for the ensuing year, the First Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor said the action by the EC contravenes the regulation passed by Parliament for the effective performance of its functions.
“The issue of the non-use of the indelible ink breaches the law…Mr Speaker, you cannot come to Parliament with an instrument where protocols have been outlined and you as an administrative fiat decide that you won’t go according to the protocol.
“The use of indelible ink is part of the regulations that we put in the instrument for the effective performance of the Electoral Commissioner so, you cannot decide that you would not apply it. She must do things that will help her perform effectively.”