<<Print>>

A six-member task force has been set up by the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) to establish the true identities of inmates as the Electoral Commission (EC) prepares to register prisoners to exercise their franchise in the December elections. The task force which has been given two weeks to complete its assignment is headed by the Deputy Director-General of the GPS in Charge of Operations, Mr Ben Quaye, is also to oversee and supervise the screening process of inmates who are serving their sentences with fake identities. The EC deferred the biometric voters� registration of prisoners to a date yet to be announced, to enable the prison authorities to address the issue of providing authentic forms of identification for the inmates. Prisoners eligible to vote in the election were to be registered during the fourth phase of the biometric voters registration exercise but the prison authorities asked for more time to enable them resolve the identity problems of the prisoners some of whom were serving their sentences with fake identification documents. Earlier, the EC in collaboration with the GPS set up a working committee to thrash out the problems of identifying qualified prisoners for the registration. The Chief Public Relations Officer of the GPS, ASP Courage Atsem, told graphic.com.gh in Accra that the task-force would visit the 43 prison facilities across the country to establish the true identities of the inmates to be presented to the EC for their registration exercise to begin. He explained that in the quest to obtain their authentic identities, the inmates would be advised to get in touch with their relations who would in turn furnish the task force with their relevant identities. Those who did not have any form of identification would need people they knew to vouch for them as stipulated by the EC. The Prison population as at May 7, 2012 was 13,400 out of which juveniles numbered 119. 719 of the number, were foreigners but ASP Atsem indicated that the task force would do due deligence to ensure that only Ghanaian inmates were registered. The decision to allow prisoners to vote in the December polls came after years of national debates by human rights campaigners. The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling in May 2010, declared null and void Section 7(5) of PNDCL 285 which imposes a residency requirement on prisoners as condition for voting, thereby giving the nod to convicted and remand prisoners in Ghana's jails the right to vote. The court, presided over by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, directed the EC to come up 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. It 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 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 PNDCL 284 which barred remand and convicted prisoners from voting. The Attorney-General and the EC were jointly sued. While inaugurating the Ankaful Prison in 2011, President Mills declared the government�s intention to allow prisoners to vote and asked the EC to take the necessary steps to comply with the Supreme Court ruling which gave prisoners the right to vote. Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees all citizens of Ghana who have attain 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. Just before the commencement of the registration exercise, the EC Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, announced that based on the Supreme Court ruling, the prisoners would be registered for the 2012 elections and beyond.