Debates of 9 Jun 2020

MR SPEAKER
PRAYERS 11:05 a.m.
VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS AND THE OFFICIAL REPORT 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, Correction of the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 5th June,
2020.
Page 1 … 16
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, on page 17, “Public University Bill, 2020” should read “Public Universities Bill, 2020”.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Any more correction on page 17?
M r R o c k s o n - N e l s o n Dafeamekpor: Mr Speaker, if I may kindly take you back to page 9?
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
You may.
Mr Dafeamekpor 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the item numbered 8, reads:
“The following Questions were asked of and answered by the Hon Deputy Minister, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, on behalf of the Minister for Health.”
But the Questions are missing, but I see that the one asked by the Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa featured.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Clerks-at-the- Table, please correct that. Any further correction on page 17? Finally, page
18?
Hon Members, the Votes and Proceedings of Friday, 5th June, 2020, as corrected, are hereby admitted as the true record of proceedings.
We have two Official Reports. We would start with that of Wednesday, 20th May, 2020. Hon Members, any corrections therein?
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, correction of the Official Report of Thursday, 21st May, 2020.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Hon Members, we will vary the order of Business slightly and move on to the item listed 5 on the Order Paper -- Motion. [Pause]
Item listed 4 -- Presentation of Papers. The following Papers are to be presented. Item 4(a) -- Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources?
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources is here with us and so, he can lay the Paper captured as item 4(a) on behalf of the substantive Minister.
PAPERS 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker 11:05 a.m.
Item numbered 4(b) -- Hon Minister for Health.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:05 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Paper listed as item 4(b) would be presented on behalf of the Hon Minister for Health by the Hon Minister for Youth and Sports.
By the Minister for Youth and Sports (Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah) (MP) (on behalf of) the Minister for Health.
Meat Inspection Regulations,
2020.
Referred to the Subsidiary Legislation Committee.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
With regard to item numbered 4(c), a Report was purportedly laid on Thursday by the Hon Vice Chairman of the Committee. I am satisfied that it was only out of a mix-up and that the Hon Deputy Chairman of the Committee definitely did not intend to upstage the Hon Chairman. I would therefore clear the mix-up by having the earlier Report withdrawn, not having been laid by the Hon Chairman, consider it as withdrawn and of no effect and I
Mr Bernard Ahiafor 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman is currently not available in the Chamber, so if the House would permit me, I would lay the Report on his behalf.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Very well.
By Mr Bernard Ahiafor (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee) --
Report of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation on the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C. I. 126).
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Item numbered 4(d)(i), by the Hon Chairman of the Finance Committee?
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we have an Hon Member of the Finance Committee in the Chamber, who would do the presentation of the Papers on behalf of the Hon Chairman.
By Mr Matthew Nyindam (on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee) --
(i) Report of the Finance Committee on the Budget Performance Report in Respect of the Office of Government Machinery for the period January to December, 2019.
(ii) Report of the Finance Committee on the Budget Performance Report in Respect of the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation for the period January to December, 2019.
(iii) Report of the Finance Committee on the Budget Performance Report in Respect of the Ministry of Finance for the period January to December, 2019.
(iv) Report of the Finance Committee on the Annual Public Debt Management Report for the 2019 Financial Year.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Item listed 5 -- Motion.
Hon Chairman of the Committee?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Report has just been laid and it is not a very fat one, but I would plead that you allow a brief for Hon
Members to read it. So in the meantime, we could attempt to do the Consideration Stage of the Land Bill, 2019. We would allow ourselves between 15 to 20 minutes by which Hon Members would have finished reading the Report, so that we could come back to item listed 5.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, understandably, we could deal with any matter. I just got my copy of the Report so I am yet to appreciate the content of it. So we could do any of the Bills that is available and after a while, we could go into full debate on Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Item listed 8 -- Consideration Stage of the Lands Bill,
2019.
BILLS -- CONSIDERATION 11:15 a.m.
STAGE 11:15 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Mr Francis Manu-Adabor) 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 4, sub clause 1, line 2, delete “it''.
The new rendition would read:
“A common law freehold arises from a transaction to which the rules of law generally known as common law are applicable and is
(a) of perpetual duration or for any other uncertain duration''.
Mr Iddrisu 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I support the Hon Chairman's proposition for the deletion of the “it'', but if the “is'' stays, then it means that the “is'' also in clause 4(1)(c), has to be deleted.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Speaker 11:15 a.m.
Hon Chairman, do you have any other amendments to clause 4?
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:15 a.m.
Yes, Mr Speaker. In clause 4 (b), lines 1 and 2, delete “,'' in between “stool'' and “skin'' and insert “or''.
The new rendition would read:
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:15 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 5, subclause 1, paragraph (a) line 2, delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin” and also delete “family, clan” and insert “family or clan” and on the same line 2, delete “or group” and in line 4, delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin” and also delete “family/clan” and insert “family or clan” and in line 5 delete “or group”.
Mr Dafeamekpor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we subjected this matter to debate last week, so I agree with the new proposition. Now, it falls in tandem with how it is supposed to be.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 5 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 6 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 7 --
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, any amendment?
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, there is no advertised amendment.
Yes, Hon Member?
Mr Dafeamekpor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, consequentially, if we look at clause 7, subclause (b), we are saying that a customary tenancy arises where a stool, skin - but we just carried amendments in clauses 4 and 5. So I propose that the Table Office would consequentially amend anytime they come across “stool, skin” to reflect what we did earlier.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Consequentially, the Table Office should ensure that accordingly. So I will put the Question on clause 7.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 7 as amendment ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, I recognised you.
Mr Benito Owusu-Bio 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker sorry, this is the Hon Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
Mr Speaker, it is not consequential every time that we meet “stool, skin”.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
He specifically referred to --
Mr Owusu-Bio 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the one with respect to clause 7, yes, but then he made a comment advising that every time we came across it, it must be inserted but it cannot be so.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Then it is clear.
Clause 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 9 -- Stool, skin, clan and family lands
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 9, subclause 1, line 1, delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin” and in line 2, delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin”, and also in line 3, delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin” and unless the context otherwise requires, do same where the expression “stool, skin” appears in the Bill.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 9, subclause 1, line 3, before “clan” insert “and members of the”. So the new rendition would be:
“A stool or skin, clan or family land shall vest in the appropriate stool or skin, clan or family and on behalf of and in trust for the subjects of the stool or skin and members of the clan or family”.
Mr Avedzi 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thought that the Hon Chairman of the Committee was reading the original rendition of the clause instead of the amended version and that was why I stood up.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
That makes it clear, so Hon Chairman, give us a fresh rendition for the avoidance of any doubt. After your proposed amendment, what would the resultant effect be? Read that to us.
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the amended clause 9 will be:
“A stool or skin, clan or family land shall vest in the appropriate stool or skin, clan or family and on behalf of and in trust for the subjects of the stool or skin and members of the clan or family
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Thank you; I can see a nod.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Mr Dafeamekpor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I just realised that we carried an amendment on clause 9, subclause 3 -- [Interruption] -- Yes, I thought I heard the Chairman move an amendment -- [Interruption] -- Very well.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Now, Chairman, clause 9, listed as (v); propose your amendment.
Mr Manu-Adabor 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move, clause 9, subclause 2, line 3, delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin”.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Chairman of the Committee in moving the amendment listed (iii) has said that we should delete “stool, skin” and insert “stool or skin” and unless the context otherwise requires, do same where the expressions “stool, skin” appears. So I am telling him that what he is doing now is consequential.
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
Hon Chairman of the Committee, so with what you have said in the amendment listed (iii), what do you need the amendment listed (v) for?
Hon Majority Leader, is that not the essence of your amendment? It would automatically flow. He is asking us to do what we have already agreed to automatically apply.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, that is the import of the amendment he moved in the item listed (iii).
Mr Speaker 11:25 a.m.
So Chairman of the Committee, you would agree to withdraw that one. [Interruption]
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, respectfully for the records, I think on the item listed (IV), the Chairman of the Committee was not only inserting “and members” but he was inserting “and members of the”. So “and members of the clan and family in accordance with customary law and usage.”

Mr Speaker, that was the amendment that he moved. However,

as advertised, we do not have ‘of the' at the end of “members”. So it should be deemed as having been included as the true words of the after “members”.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Mr Shaibu Mahama 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, clause (IV), where we sought to insert “and members”, I do not see why we should insert it. This is because the clause seeks to say that:
“A stool, skin, clan or family land shall vest in the appropriate stool, skin, clan or family on behalf of, and in trust for the subjects of the stool, skin or clan or family”.
Mr Speaker, indeed, clan or family is made up of members and so why would we say; ‘members of the clan'?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, we have subjects of stool and skin but not subjects of a family or clan. It is members of a clan or family and that is why the distinction is being proffered.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Chairman, what is our way forward?
Mr Many-Adabor 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, yes, it has been rightly said by the Hon Majority Leader. For stool or skin, we have subjects and then clan or family, we have members and so I think that the amendment should stay.
Question put and amendment agreed to.
Clause 9 as amended ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe that where we have gotten to, we can suspend the Consideration Stage of the Land Bill and come back to deal with the item listed 5.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
That brings us to the end of the Consideration Stage for the time being. Item listed 5 -- Motions by the Hon Chairman of the Committee.
MOTIONS 11:35 a.m.
Dr Dominic A. Ayine (Bolgatanga East) 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move , that not withstanding the provisions of Standing Order 80(1) which requires that no Motion shall be debated until at least forty- eight hours have elapsed between the
Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah (NPP -- Okaikoi Central) 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to second the Motion.
Question put and Motion agreed to.
Resolved accordingly.
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Item listed 6 -- Motion.
MOTIONS 11:35 a.m.
Chairman of the Committee (Dr Dominic A. Ayine) 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I beg to move , that this honourable House adopts the Report of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation on the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations,
2020 (C.I. 126).
Mr Speaker, in doing so, I present the Committee's Report in view of the fact that I will be summarising.
The Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, (C. I. 126) was laid before this House on Tuesday, 31st March, 2020 in accordance with article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution. Pursuant to Standing Orders 77, and 166 --
Mr Speaker 11:35 a.m.
Hon Chairman, just a moment. Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:35 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I think from the very outset, I would want to know what the Hon Chairman is doing? We have a Report from the Committee that he chairs and which he is submitting to us, and he is now telling us that he wants to summarise; he said that the Hansard should capture but he is going to summarise the Report.
Mr Speaker that is not known to this House. If he is saying he is reading portions of the Report that is allowable but to say that he is setting the Report aside and to summarise it for us that is not known to this House. He must do what is appropriate.
Dr Ayine 11:45 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I take a cue from the Hon Majority Leader for the correction that he has made.
Mr Speaker, the Committee referred to the under listed documents during its deliberations:
i. The 1992 Constitution;
ii. The Standing Orders of Parliament;
iii. Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 1995
(C.I. 12);
iv. Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012
(C.I. 72);
v. Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2016 (C.I. 91); and
vi. The case law of the Supreme Court on voter registration, including Abu Ramadan & Anor v. Electoral Commission & another, (Suit No. J8/108/
2016).
The Committee met with Mr. Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission in charge of Operations and Mr Bossman Asare, Deputy Chairperson in charge of Corporate Affairs and other Officials of the Electoral Commission. Officials of the Drafting Division of the Office of the Attorney-
General and Ministry of Justice were also in attendance to assist the Committee in its deliberations.

4.0 Background Information

4.1 By the provisions of article 51 of the Constitution, the Electoral Commission is mandated to make regulations for the effective performance of its functions, and in particular, for the registration of voters, the conduct of public elections and referenda, including provision for voting by proxy. Pursuant to the afore- mentioned constitutional provisions and Section 2 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1993 (Act 451), the Electoral Commission has been responsible for the conduct of all public elections and referenda in the Country.

4.2 In preparation towards the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, the Electoral Commission intends to register voters for the elections. Hence, the introduction into Parliament of the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C.I.126) to enable the Commission obtain the legal framework for this exercise.
Dr Ayine 11:55 a.m.
the Commission to the fact that in spite of the argument that the birth certificate is a source document for establishing citizenship, it has never been used in any of the C.I.'s on the registration of voters, which is C.I. 12, C.I. 72 and
C.I. 91.
5.5 Mr Speaker, some Hon Members further observed that the exclusion of the existing voter identification card and the driver's licence failed to take account of the decision of the Supreme Court on these documents in the famous Abu Ramadan series of cases. In Abu Ramadan & Anor v. Electoral Commission & Anor; and Kwasi Danso Acheampong v. Electoral Commission & Anor, Consolidated Writs Nos. J1/11/2014 and J1/9/ 2014, the Supreme Court declared that the use of the NHIA Card to register to vote was inconsistent with article 42 of the Constitution.
The reason the Court gave was that, the NHIA Card on its face did not distinguish between Ghanaian citizens and foreigners and therefore its use could potentially result in the registration of foreigners for the purposes of voting in clear contravention of article 42 of the Constitution.
It was the case of the Plaintiffs in that case that “citizenship is so crucial to the right to register as a voter, that neither the NHIA card, nor for that matter any document which does not
on its face establish the fact of Ghanaian citizenship, can appropriately be used for establishing the constitutional qualification for registration.” On the basis of this feature of the NHIA Card, the Supreme Court upheld the claim of the plaintiffs to strike out the regulation that permitted its use as proof of identity for the purposes of registration as a voter.
5.6 However, as noted by the Members, the Supreme Court rejected the request of the Plaintiffs to declare as unconstitutional the use of the then existing voter ID cards issued under the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012 (C.I. 72). In upholding the use of the existing voter ID cards for purposes of registration to vote, the court took the view that:
“to pass the constitutional validity test, any document listed under Regulation 1, sub- regulation (3) must contain the constitutional requirements that qualify an applicant for registration as a voter. The critical requirements which are clearly stated on the old voter registration card include the age and citizenship status of the applicant. It may indeed be legitimately argued that for all practical purposes, the old voter card is the best prima facie
evidence of an applicant's eligibility under the C.I. 72.” Per Wood CJ at p. 22.
Mr Speaker, I have heard it said in some quarters, sometimes on television and also on radio that these words were obiter. These were the clear rationis diserendi of the case. It is because the relief being sought by the plaintiffs was very clear.

That was to declare the card unconstitutional because its use would result in double registration, and the court disagreed with them. That was how Her Ladyship then made this pronouncement.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Member, when you come to interpret judgements, you know very well as a lawyer -- you know that opinions defer in the interpretation of court judgements. Please, stick to the Report.
Dr Ayine 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I take a cue --
rose
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Yes, Hon Majority Leader?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, when the Hon Chairman started off, he said he wanted to summarise the Report. We told him to restrict himself to the Report of the Committee. Now, he goes outside on a different tangent on his own frolic and he argued a case as if he is in court.
Mr Speaker, what he did is outside the Committee's Report, and he cannot do that -- [Interruption] -- and to those of them who are shouting. Can you shut up and listen? -- [Interruption] -- Can you keep quiet and listen? -- [Interruption] -- if you have anything to say, please address Mr Speaker. [Interruption]
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I can only advise Hon Dr Ayine to keep to his Committee's Report as you have advised him and submit same.
Thank you.
Dr Ayine 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the third observation that the Committee made was that, in order to compensate for the proscription of the use of the driver's license and the existing Voter Identification Cards, a registered voter may now guarantee for 10 persons to register, a 100 per cent increase from five persons under the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2016, (C.I. 91).
In other words, prospective registrants who do not possess any of the items listed in Regulations 1(3) of C.I.126 as evidence of identification could register if they could find a registered voter to guarantee that they are citizens of Ghana and that registered voter can guarantee for 10 of such persons.
Mr Speaker, in effect, the position of the Electoral Commission is that under the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C.I.126), a citizen of Ghana who intends to register as a
voter would have to prove his or her citizenship by providing either a Passport, National Identification Card (the Ghana Card) or fill a Voter Registration Identification Guarantee Form proving that the person is a citizen of Ghana.
The Committee noted that the distribution of the Ghana Card by the National Identification Authority may affect the number of p e r s o n s who are available at registration centres to guarantee for others who do not have the Ghana Card but who otherwise qualify to be duly registered to vote.
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Samuel Tettey, assured the Committee that this would not be a problem because immediately a person has been registered and issued with a voter card, that person is legally qualified to guarantee for other persons to register. He confirmed that the Voter Registration Identification Guarantee Form attached to C.I. 126 has a column for the voter ID card number of a person who can guarantee for other persons after obtaining their new voter ID card.
He also assured the Committee that administrative arrangements would be made to ensure that there is sufficient supply of guarantee forms at registration centres. The Electoral Commission asserted that 95 per cent of persons who registered in the 2019
limited registration relied on guarantors.
Lastly, the issue of whether and the extent to which the current Regulations C.I. 91 sufficiently deals with the deployment of the facial recognition technology by the Commission was raised. Some Members observed that the complex and intrusive nature of the technology would require justifiable legal safeguards for its use as a de- duplication mechanism during registration whilst other members took the view that there exists sufficient basis under Regulations 13 (7) and 27, as well as the interpretation section of C.I. 91 for the deployment of the facial recognition technology.
Mr Speaker, recommendation and conclusion. The Committee examined the Constitutional Instrument within the ambit of the general objects of the Constitution, and is of the view that the rationale for the Instrument is in accordance with the powers of the Commission under article 51, with respect to the compilation of a credible and widely accepted voter register for the conduct of public elections and referenda in the country.
However, the Committee could not arrive at a consensus as to whether
or not the exclusion of a driver's licence and the existing voter identification card from C.I. 126 is constitutional.
Mr Speaker, the Committee by a majority decision -- Mr Speaker, I would want to move for an amendment.
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Please, read what is there.
Dr Ayine 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, the Committee by a majority decision recommends to the House to adopt its Report and allow the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 126) to come into force at the expiration of 21 sitting days in accordance with article 11 (7) of the 1992 Constitution.
I so move. [Hear! Hear!] Mr Speaker -- [Interruption]
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Chairman, you have so moved?
Dr Ayine 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I am moving to amend for it to be reflected --
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Members, order!
Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoa (NPP -- Adentan) 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I rise to second the Motion. [Uproar]
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Members, the Motion has been moved and by what I have before me, Hon Buaben Asamoa will speak next.
The Leaders have given me their list, please allow me to go by it. I will not accept any interceptions, so that this would move on smoothly.
Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoa (NPP -- Adentan) 11:55 a.m.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to second this Report -- [Interruption] -- as I second the Motion -- [Uproar]
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Yes, Hon Buaben Asamoa? -- Please, Hon Leaders, at this stage, kindly -- Order!
Hon Buaben Asamoa, you have ten minutes.
Mr Asamoa 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I will be very brief. It is a very happy day for me today, that this long tortuous journey for the C.I: the subject matter
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Members, order!
Mr Asamoa 11:55 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I have personally had my fair share of that unhappiness, because of the attitude of my Hon Colleagues on the other Side. [Interruption]
Mr Speaker 11:55 a.m.
Hon Member, give us your --
Mr Buaben Asamoa 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, this C.I. was withdrawn twice and re-laid a third time.

When it was laid, the impression was created out there that your Committee was set out to do something mischievous and unacceptable.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Buaben Asamoa, speculations outside the parameters of this debate and added commentaries would not be accepted.
Mr Asamoa 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, it is on record in this House --
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member, you will listen to me. You will use your 10 minutes to make your arguments - the arguments as per the Motion before us and nothing more. Please proceed. You have consumed two minutes.
Mr Asamoa 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I need to put some matters on record. First of all, I am alleged to have cancelled the Report. Mr Speaker, all I did was on behalf of the Majority side of the Committee --
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Hon Member, that matter is gone. Now, respond to the argument.
Mr Asamoa 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Report acknowledges that the Electoral Commission (EC.) has a mandate to deliver a credible register and conduct an election. This obviously is subject to the decisions of the Supreme Court, and this Constitutional Instrument was brought before us on the basis that the E.C. had to meet the requirements of the Supreme Court per the source documents necessary to establish identity before one could be put on the register.
Mr Speaker, the cases of Abu Ramadan came before us. The verdict was very clear that people who registered with NHIA cards had to be taken from the register. Mr
Speaker, in paragraph 5.3 of the Report, the E.C. was very clear. It says that within the Commission, they believed they were unable to complete the deletion of the names of NHIA card holders who used the card because of poor record keeping, and because they did not have all the records, they believed that they needed to compile another register in order to properly clean the existing one once and for all.
Mr Speaker, something interesting happened at this stage; when the Supreme Court ordered that the register be cleaned, the then EC filed a list of 56,000 names with the Court -- 29, 000 of which they said have been deleted and were given the opportunity to put their names back on the register. I contend here that in having one's name deleted and given the opportunity to put one's name back on the register, one has actually registered as a new voter.
Mr Speaker, we do not see what the brouhaha is, because we cannot in giving opportunity to register, use the old NHIA card one needed to use other documents and those documents meant that one is going to register as a new voter otherwise, the E.C. would not recognise the person.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Order!
Mr Asamoa 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, under the C.I. 126, a registered voter can vouch for a hundred per cent more; ten people, so it is even better now than before because as soon as one registers, one could vouch for ten others and the ten others could vouch for ten others and it continues in that manner. Nobody would be disenfranchised. Indeed, they demonstrated it clearly that in their last noted registration exercise in which the NDC willingly participated, 95 per cent of the people on the register were vouched for; they did not bring any I.D card.
Mr Speaker, so it is not the case that this C.I., given the source documents; the passport, the Ghana Card and the vouching process would disenfranchise anybody. Indeed, it gives even better opportunity for potential registrants than before. So in order to ensure that as many Ghanaians as possible are registered and we have a clean register, a majority of your Committee believe that we need a clean break with the
old register that still has elements of people who hold cards with NHIA and drivers' licenses as the source documents.
Mr Speaker, this is a House of record. The majority decision demonstrates that we are not at ad idem; we did not have consensus and therefore the Report had to reflect on both sides of the argument.
Mr Speaker, your Hon Ranking Member had to ensure that both sides of the arguments were reflected, and made sure that the Report reflected “some members” and “other members”. That is the apogee of my editing. Mr Speaker, if we do not say “some members” and “other members”, the impression would be created that the entire Committee was of the view that the arguments canvassed for covered the entire set of issues.
Mr Speaker, but these arguments had counter arguments as I have listed here. We cannot confirm and conclude that without a birth certificate as a source document requirement, C.I. 126 is faulty. That is not the case; C.I. 12; C.I. 75 and 91 did not have that, why now?
Secondly, we go to Abu Ramadan case and we say that --
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
And in conclusion?
Mr Asamoa 12:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, the Chief Justice's decision in the Abu Ramadan's case does not wipe out the fact that if somebody is holding a card and it is suspected to have been acquired through the tendering in of an NHIA card to receive that card, that card can be an identity document that should be used at this time. To the extent that the Commission cannot demonstrate that they have cleaned the old register effectively of those cards, it is right, as the Supreme Court said that they withdraw those old cards and issue new cards in order to assure themselves that they are delivering a clean, credible register for a free and fair election in 2020.
I thank you Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker 12:05 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Mr Mahama Ayariga (NDC -- Bawku Central) 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

Mr Speaker, your Standing Orders, Order 166 is very clear on our mandate as a Parliament. It says and I beg to quote:

“(3) After each Order, Rule or Regulation is laid before the
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
In conclusion? [Interruption]
Mr Ayariga 12:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my conclusion is that the C. I. is defective, it does not carry into effect, article 42 of the Constitution ; the C. I.'s specific mandate is to specify how a citizen should be identified for the purposes of that person being registered and the C. I. does not do that effectively. That is why I urge this House to reject the C. I.
Mr Speaker 12:15 p.m.
Thank you very much. Hon O. B. Amoah, you have 10 minutes.
Mr Osei Bonsu Amoah (NPP -- Akwapim South) 12:25 p.m.
Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to support the Motion on the Floor that this House accepts the Report of the Committee and to approve the amendment to C. I. 91 regarding regulations on the registration of voters.
Mr Speaker, I agree with the conclusion of the Hon Chairman and of your Committee, that the C. I. laid before this House is very constitutional and should be approved by this
House. I would want to continue by referring to the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. It says in article 2 subclause (2) which I beg to quote:

“The Supreme Court shall, for the purposes of a declaration under clause (1) of this article, make such orders and give such directions as it may consider appropriate for giving effect, or enabling effect to be given, to the declaration so made.”

Indeed, clause 3 says:

“Any person or group of persons to whom an order or direction is addressed under clause (2) of this article by the Supreme Court, shall duly obey and carry out the terms of the order or direction.”

Mr Speaker, the E.C. appeared before the Committee and said that the very reason they sought to amend C. I. 91 and to get us to approve C. I. 126 is the fact that they wanted to comply with the order of the Supreme Court.

If we get to paragraph 5.2 on page 3 of the Report, an observation is made there that the E.C. admitted that they could not carry out the order of

Mr Speaker, I would want to read what the Report says, quoting the EC. Paragraph 5.3 reads with your permission:

“As to whether it had deleted the names of every person who used the NHIA card to register, the Commission explained that due to poor record keeping, it became practically impossible to identify such persons for purposes of effecting a total deletion. Therefore the Commission believes that, in order to have a clean Register of Voters, it is necessary to exclude the use of the existing voter identification card as a form of proof of identity in the registration process”.

Indeed, Mr Speaker, in the Akuapim South District, the E.C. submitted only 19 names out of a voter population of almost 40,000 as those who had used the health insurance card to register. In the capital, Aburi, not a single person was said to have used the NHIA card in registering during the registration.

Mr Speaker, so if the E.C. comes to this House and say they would want to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court and to purge itself of what they were required to do under the ruling of the Supreme Court, I believe that it is fair that we accept and allow them to amend C. I. 91 which the Supreme Court has said that by the admission of those who registered with NHIA card, that originally had become unconstitutional, we shall accept it.

Mr Speaker, if you would permit me, I would read a release by the Supreme Court dated 30th July, 2014. By a court which was unanimous, the Supreme Court granted relief in the declaration which with your permission I quote below:

“In each case, we declared that upon a true and proper interpretation of article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, the use of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Card to register a voter pursuant to Regulation 1(3) (d) of the Public Election (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012 (C.I.72) is inconsistent with the said article

42.”
Mr Speaker, it went on to say 12:25 p.m.
“Additionally, in the suit numbered J1/11/2014, we
Some Hon Members 12:25 p.m.
Source.
Mr O. B. Amoah 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, my Hon Colleagues are talking about source. It is “Ramadan and Another v Electoral Commission and Attorney-General (Ruling) (J8/108/
2016)

GHASC 19 (05 July 2016)” and this ruling was read by Justice … Gbadegbe on 5th May,

2016.
Mr Speaker, the Court said 12:25 p.m.
(b) That any person whose name is deleted from the register of voters by the Electoral Commission pursuant to order (a) above be given the opportunity to register under the law.”
Now, the E.C. comes before us and says that they could not comply with the order of the Court and they would want to amend the C. I. 91 so that they could comply with the order of the Supreme Court as required under the Constitution. There is nothing
unconstitutional about what they want to do.
The E.. said, out of the abundance of caution, they do not want to admit any document that would lead them back to the Supreme Court for them to be told to take it out. So once a person has a passport or National Identification Authority card, these are documents that they can vouch for, or accept and nobody can challenge that at the Supreme Court.
Mr Speaker, at the Committee level, we were not asked to determine how many other documents could be put in the C. I. for anybody to present for registration. That was not the duty of the Committee to do so but the Committee was asked to look at what the E.C. sought to amend and whether it was constitutional. It was not for us to say why they did not add birth certificate, driver's licence or student identification card. That was not the purpose of what we were asked to do.
If you look at the Standing Orders, we would have to find out whether what the E.C. or any authority wants to do is constitutional and it is in accordance with the Standing Orders.
Mr Speaker 12:25 p.m.
In conclusion?
Mr O. B. Amoah 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, so in conclusion, I believe that the E.C. has done the proper thing; they have come before us to comply with the Supreme Court order and by coming to us to comply with the Supreme Court order, what they have submitted is constitutional and we must support them to do their work. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC -- Akatsi South) 12:25 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Report of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee on the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations,
2020 C. I. 126.
Mr Speaker, I have looked at the recommendations of the Committee as stated on page 6 of the Report and I am inclined to disagree with the recommendations coming from the majority decision of the Committee and urge this House to annul the C. I. under reference.
Mr Speaker, I have read the Committee's Report and looking at the reasons given in the Report of the Committee, they support the annulment of the C. I. rather than the passage of it.
Mr Bernard Ahiafor (NDC -- Akatsi South) 12:35 p.m.


Mr Speaker, I would want it to be established on record that the Committee Report is not against the authority of the E.C. to come with the C. I. to register voters, but the complaint is about the manner and circumstances in which the registration would be carried out.

In the Committee's Report, it complained about the exclusion of the existing Voter ID card - the Committee was against the exclusion of the driver's licenses. The reasons for the Committee's justification against the exclusion of these documents are very cogent and convincing.

We all know that the Voter ID card enabled Ghanaians to vote for the President in 2016. We used the same Voter ID card to do a referendum to create new regions. We used the same Voter ID card to elect all the 275 Hon Members of Parliament. We used that Voter ID card to elect all the Assembly members in this country.

The current E.C. issued Voter ID cards to a lot of Ghanaians. Why should we say today that the same Voter ID cards should not be a source document for registration of voters? The Voter ID card that we used to elect President Nana Akufo-Addo,

cannot today be used as a source document to register to vote.

Mr Speaker, democratic principles would not allow anybody who is 18 years of age and of sound mind to be disenfranchised from exercising his or her constitutional rights conferred on him or her by article 42 of the Constitution, not to be able to exercise that particular right.

Mr Speaker, I know we have separation of powers but all Arms of Government must respect each other. The Supreme Court, in the case of Abu Ramadan, did not accede to the plaintiff's request that driver's license and existing Voter ID card should not be a source document for new registration. How could we sit as Hon Members of Parliament to allow this particular C.I. that excludes the use of existing Voter ID card and the driver's license contrary to the decision of the Supreme Court in the Abu Ramadan's case to pass?

On this note alone, this House would have to annul the passage of the C. I. 126, in respect of the dignity and the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Abu Ramadan.

Mr Speaker, if we pass this C. I., it would mean that we want to condone and approve a disrespect to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Abu Ramadan because the

Mr Speaker, it was argued that the reason for the exclusion is that some people used the NHI card to register, therefore they were ordered to expunge it. We are all aware that the E.C. went to the Supreme Court that they have been able to delete 56, 000 people and the Supreme Court allowed them to give them the opportunity to re-register using a correct source document.

Out of the 56,000 people, a whopping 29,000 were given the opportunity to register and they all registered. It could be presumed that those who did not register, did not allow themselves to be registered or they are dead because everybody was given the opportunity to register. So as I speak, it would be very erroneous for somebody to allege that the register that we have today, still contain people who used the NHI card to register.

Mr Speaker, the issue before us is not about the use of the NHI card

being used to register, so the argument on the NHI card as a justification to do what the EC would do, cannot in law be justified. It has been argued in this House that one person could guarantee for 10 people and it would have a multiple effect. That could definitely not be correct and cannot be emanating from the C. I. under reference. This is because in the C. I. under reference, two people are needed to guarantee for one person. So for 10 people to qualify to register, they need -- so nobody could argue that one person could guarantee for 10 people.

For one person to register through the guarantee system, it needs joint guarantors and it must be two. So how could they claim that one person could guarantee for 10 people when it takes two people to guarantee for one person?

Mr Speaker, on the use of the birth certificate, the Committee clearly spelt out that this House passed the National Identification Authority Act that NIA would use as a source document to generate the Ghana card and the same thing applies to passport. Therefore a person cannot say that his or her father is a citizen of Ghana but the child cannot be a citizen of Ghana or the child is a citizen of Ghana but the father is not a citizen of Ghana.

Mr Speaker, with these few arguments, I urge the House to annul
Mr Speaker 12:35 p.m.
Hon Majority Leader, do I have Hon Ameyaw- Cheremeh or Hon Ben Abdallah?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Member for Okaikoi Central, Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah would take the place of the Hon Member for Offinso South, Mr Ben Abdallah Banda.
Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah (NPP -- Okaikoi Central) 12:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Motion.
Mr Speaker, it seems my Hon Colleagues on the other Side are on a tangent or they seek to recover the lost one million votes they told Ghanaians when they lost the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. Their arguments keep shifting week in week out.
One; they started talking about the timing of the registration of new voters and that argument has been defeated.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Members, order!
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Members, any Member who rises to contribute to an argument may make any reference -- [Uproar] -- to any appropriate laws.
Moving a Motion on a Report is different from making a contribution on the floor of the House. [Uproar] -- When one moves a Motion, one moves in terms of a Report before the House; when one is contributing, one may refer to anything that is relevant.
If anybody is of a contrary view, let him stand and make a legal argument or refer to Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice or to our Standing Orders here and let us not just be shouting. [Uproar] -- If you do not know, allow yourself to be taught.
Mr Boamah 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the argument on cost was also defeated. The E.C. gave us figures to support the fact that the country would be saved a whopping US$18 million should they be given the opportunity to compile a new voters' register.
Mr Speaker, if you look at page 6 of your Committee's Report, the Committee examined the constitutional instrument within the ambit of the general objects of the Constitution and is of the view that the rationale for the instrument is in accordance with the powers of the Commission - article 51. The E.C. is coming under the Constitution to make regulations to conduct a free and fair elections in 2020.
Mr Speaker, we went through C.I. 12, C.I. 72 and C.I. 91; now we have C.I. 126 which by the grace of God and by the close of Business today, would mature and come into effect tomorrow. That is the problem of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to which they issued the writ numbered J19/2020 by the Chairman of this same Committee.
Mr Speaker, what are they afraid of? Mr Speaker, we won the 2016 general election with this card and we are of the view that the current register has a cancer and cannot be cured with paracetamol -- [Uproar] -- We
cannot cure cancer or Coronavirus disease with paracetamol. [Laughter] We need a credible register.

Mr Speaker, I refuse to be intimidated.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Members, order! Hon Member, kindly withdraw anti-progress; that is your personal opinion.
Mr Boamah 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, very well, I withdraw that.
Mr Speaker, the toxic nature of this voters' register is traceable to C.I. 12 and I would demonstrate that to them. These were the requirements of the C.I. 12 to enable one get on the register:
Mr Boamah 12:45 p.m.
(a) a citizen of Ghana; and
(b) eighteen years of age and above and of sound mind.

Mr Speaker, I heard the Chairman of the Committee talk about the fact that there is an existing decision of the Supreme Court. Let me refer the Chairman to article 129 (3). Mr Speaker, for the avoidance of doubt and with your kind permission, I read:

“The Supreme Court may, while treating its own previous decisions as normally binding, depart from a previous decision when it appears to it right to do so…”
Mr Boamah 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I saw the Minister for Regional Reorganisation here and I would want to pose a question to the NDC.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
You cannot put a question in that regard. -- [Laughter] --
So in conclusion?
Mr Boamah 12:45 p.m.
Mr Speaker, new regions were created. North East Region was created out of the Northern Region. What would be the coding that the E.C. would use should we continue with this register? [Hear! Hear!] It is very critical.
Mr Speaker, if we do not employ a new biometric voter registration management system with a new coding system, it would be very difficult and we would end up disenfranchising almost seven million Ghanaians.
Mr Speaker 12:45 p.m.
Hon Amoatey, you have 10 minutes.
Mr Magnus Kofi Amoatey (NDC-Yilo Krobo) 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this debate.

Mr Speaker, I need to place it on record that the Committee Report we are debating was carried by a
Majority decision 12:55 p.m.
12 Majority members voted in favour of this Report while, nine of the Minority members voted against the passage of the Report.
Mr Speaker, what we are seeking to do is to request this honourable House to annul the C. I. 126 that has been brought before us. In effect --
Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Order!
Mr Amoatey 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, in effect, what we want the E.C to do is to conduct limited registration of voters. Persons who have just turned 18 years must be registered. Unfortunately, the Hon Colleague who just contributed to the debate described the existing voter register as being toxic and cancerous.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately, that toxic and cancerous voter's register brought him to Parliament -- [Hear! Hear!] -- Not only that, but it also elected a President, and I hope he is not describing Mr President as being toxic and cancerous? -- [Hear! Hear!] --
Fortunately, I was elected on the basis of that register and I am happy to tell my Hon Colleague that I am neither a toxic nor a cancerous Hon Member of Parliament; and so are we on this Side.
Mr Speaker, taking a cue from your ruling a moment ago, one of the reasons why our Side is seeking that we annul the C. I. 126 is that Ghana and indeed, the world is not in normal times. When we had 400 cases of COVID-19, we were locked down, today, by the records, we have almost 10,000 cases and we are asking the E.C. to gather 18 million Ghanaians
Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Hon Member, you will desist from making such references. Go on.
Mr Amoatey 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
We on this Side are advocating that the NHI card should be used. Far from it; we are law abiding citizens and since the Supreme Court ruled on that, we want to adhere to its decision.
Mr Speaker, the E. C. in Abu Ramadan II, went to the Supreme Court with loads of files shown to the
Supreme Court that it had complied with the orders of the Supreme Court to clean the register of persons who registered with the NHI cards.
Mr Speaker, that is compliance. Is the E. C. telling us today that they went to court under Abu Ramadan II to deceive the Supreme Court? If that is the same argument that the E. C. is advancing that it still has those names on its register then the E. C. must be very inefficient after having gone to tell the Supreme Court that they had complied with their orders.
The E. C. of yesterday is the E. C. of today; it has not changed. So the compliance that the E. C. of yesterday told the Supreme Court it complied with, under Abu Ramadan II is still the E. C. of today.
Mr Speaker, furthermore, my Hon Colleague quoted former Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood -- and for the records I need to emphasise that in the Abu Ramadan case, the Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood said at page 22 of that report -- and with your kind permission, I quote:
“It may indeed be legitimately argued that for all practical purposes, the old voter card is the best prima facie evidence of an applicant's eligibility under the C. I. 72".
In effect, what the Supreme Court said was that the best mode of confirming the citizenship of a Ghanaian is through the use of the voter identification card.
Today, we have over 15 million Ghanaians of over 18 years and above wielding a voter's registration card that confirms their citizenship as Ghanaians. That is the card by which the E. C. through a subsidiary legislation is seeking to alter. The E. C. is seeking to oust the use of voter's registration card as proof of citizenship as directed, ordered by the Supreme Court.
Mr Speaker, by article 129, the Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Ghana and the decisions of the Supreme Court constitute law. So what the Supreme Court said, that the voter identification card is the best proof of one's citizenship has become law. Why is the E. C. departing from that decision of the Supreme Court?
I insist that the E. C. is going through the back door using inferior legislation to do what the superior court has decreed and this House must resist that decision.
Mr Speaker, I am calling on my Hon Colleagues in this House to come with us and vote to annul C. I. 126 as it will disenfranchise a lot of Ghanaians.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
[Hear! Hear!].
Mr Speaker 12:55 p.m.
Thank you very much, Hon Member. Hon Minority Leader, you have 15 minutes.
[Pause] --
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 12:55 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I believe that he has abandoned the position and so -- [Laughter] --
Minority Leader (Mr Haruna Iddrisu) 1:05 p.m.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this Motion which is critical to the heart of Ghana's democracy and at the centre of its sustenance.
As a young student of political science, I was told that a credible voter register is a sine qua non to the conduct of free and fair elections.

Mr Speaker, by extension, Ghanaian citizenship is a sine qua non to the exercise of the rights guaranteed under article 42 of the Constitution. With your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I would want to quote for the Hansard to keep.
Mr Speaker 1:05 p.m.
Thank you.
Hon Majority Leader?
Majority Leader (Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) 1:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, on December 7, 2020, this country is going to vote. If today, people are insisting that it would be difficult for about18 million Ghanaians to go and queue and register -- [Uproar] -- Mr Speaker, the people are giving that as an excuse and justifying the fact in their view that we do not need to register about 18 million Ghanaians. On 7th
December, 2020, we are going to vote; or are they going to move a Motion in this House that we should not have any election on 7 th December, 2020 because about some 18 million would have to go, queue and vote?
Mr Speaker, if the argument is that 18 million or so people cannot go and queue to register today, on 7th December, 2020, the same principle would hold. Let them move a Motion now that there should not be any election and the President of this country should continue as the President.
Mr Speaker, you cannot understand the rationale in this. You cannot!
Mr Speaker, now, the E.C. came to this House and appeared before the Special Budget Committee and on that day, they told the Special Budget Committee that they were going to engage in new registration. That was what they told the Committee and reported to this House. They said they were going to procure modernised - indeed -- enhanced biometric equipment and software and build a modern data centre and a disaster recovery centre.
Mr Speaker, when they submitted the Report to this House, the argument from the Minority at the time was that the amount allocated for procurement of the biometric device was going to be inadequate. They did not say that the registration exercise which they have intended to do was unnecessary; they said the amount allocated for that exercise was going to be inadequate. That was the Minority, and indeed, the Minority Leader insisted that the amount was going to be inadequate.
At that time, they never said the registration was not necessary.
Mr Speaker, they told us they were going to build a modern data centre and now, the E.C., pursuant to article 51, has brought a Constitutional Instrument and we are told that because the birth certificate is not included, it is unacceptable.

Mr Speaker, the issue now has been raised that there have been C. I.s that have regulated registration exercises since 1992, 1995 and 2012 and none of the Instruments mentioned the birth certificate. Today, if the birth certificate is not added, can we not allow that? Where were they in 1992, 1995, 2012 and 2016? -- [Interruption] -- I cannot understand this. [Interruption] If he is saying that we should not correct
Mr Speaker 1:25 a.m.
Hon Majority Leader, please address the Chair.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:25 a.m.
Mr Speaker, this is not the first time a registration exercise will go on. We have had registration exercises before and in 1992 when we registered, the cards that were given to us had no picture for identification. In 1995, when we enhanced it, we had to do a new registration with black and white pictures. In 2012, we had to do this with biometrics.
The Hon Minority Leader is trying to confuse the picture when he says that this C. I. is devoid of biometric identification. Nothing can be farther away from the truth. This is because C. I. 91 provides -- in fact, they came to tell us that they would procure enhanced biometric equipment which
would capture finger prints. In addition to that, there would be facial identification.
Mr Speaker, the interpretation in C. I. 91 says that 1:25 a.m.
“'biometric information' means the electronic template derived from the measurement and analysis of unique human body characteristics including fingerprints, facial cuttings, eye retinas --”
Facial cutting was even part of C. I. 91, so who is introducing a new thing here? This means that people did not even read the contents of C. I. 91. -- [Interruption] -- So, that is it. Eye retinas was not captured at the time. They are bringing an enhanced biometric device which will capture this, so what is offensive about it? Clearly, they did not even apply themselves to C. I. 91.

Mr Speaker, this is amazing. The Constitution grants rights of citizens of 18 years and above and of sound mind to register. People are emphasising on only 18 years but the soundness of mind is also important. Indeed, with rights, citizens of this country have the right to work but we are not dwelling on that. Citizens have

the right to housing, so why are they not talking about that? So clearly, people are mixing apples with oranges.

Mr Speaker, 56,000 persons registered with National Health Insurance cards and it is said that by that exercise, the entire register is contaminated. We hear our Hon Colleagues say that how can only 56,000 contaminate the entirety of about 17 million voters? That may appear a bit convincing but it is not persuasive because here, the sins of Adam and Eve, just two people, have afflicted the entirety of humanity. We have both Muslims and Christians here and do they not accept that principle? [Laughter] -- So if I am talking about the smallness of figures, they should please apply themselves to that.

Hon Ayariga talked about his own efforts and he told us that he came with a Motion. This House is governed by rules and before a Motion is admitted Mr Speaker would even judge whether the substance of that Motion, even if it is not in the House, may come or may be coming to the House in a reasonable time. If one has a matter in this House that has been referred to a Committee, and a Member

purports to bring a Motion to arrest the matter before the Committee, where on earth does this obtain? Our Standing Orders are clear on that and Standing Order 50(3) will suggest what to do.

Mr Speaker, the remit of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation is set out in Standing Order 166. Beyond Standing Order 166, the Committee had no business going on their own frolic to do whatever they pleased. Standing Order 166 sets out their remit. Whether or not it is constitutional -- they are telling us that it is unconstitutional. What evidence have they met apart from going on their own as I said? There is nothing that they have indicated in this Report that it is unconstitutional. Clearly, there is nothing.

On the issue about the mandate of the Electoral Commission, today, we are told that the population of this country is in the region of 30 million. Now, if they should engage in limited registration, assuming the system could even hold that, it would take the number of unregistered to about 18 million. When 18 million is taken out of 30 million, it would give us about 60 per cent.
Mr Speaker 1:25 a.m.
In conclusion?

Speaker, that is 60 per cent of the people on the register. Which African country has 60 per cent? There is no 50 per cent, 59 per cent, 58 per cent, 56 per cent and not even 55 per cent. People know what they want to do.

Clearly, what the E. C. is doing finds expression in the law and the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation has not succeeded in telling this House that they have gone outside their remit. As a result of that, I want us to resist this attempt to force this House to annul the instrument that the E. C. has brought to this House.

Mr Speaker, that conclusion by some Minority Members has no legs to stand on and we must dismiss it and accordingly allow the Instrument to begin operationalisation by the close of this day.

Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker 1:25 a.m.
Thank you very much.
Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Members, Order!
Question put and Motion agreed to.
rose
Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader?
Mr Iddrisu 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as I indicated to you, this is an important constitutional matter, so I intend to invoke Order 113 (2) of our Standing Orders and to ask for division. This is because we want history and posterity to be the judge in this matter. [Hear! Hear!]
Mr Speaker, I would want to ask for a division on this matter so that the record would show that on this fateful day, this number was a number of Ghanaians who said that we should accept only passport as national identification --
Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Minority Leader, that is not the Motion - do not concoct your own Motion. However, if you say you want a division without hesitation, I would grant it for the sake of posterity. Division you have asked and division, you would have.
Please, get the papers ready, which I had already ordered to be ready. Hon Members, papers have already been made ready because I could
anticipate the nature of Business - and the votes, we shall take accordingly.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 1:35 p.m.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Minority Leader made an application to you and called for a division. He quoted Order 113(2) -- [Interruption] -- The Hon Minority Leader, could only challenge your opinion if you pronounced on the verdict. You did not. So the Hon Minority Leader's application is null and void, it cannot be sustained. This is because the Standing Orders that he cited only provides that after the vote, if you make a pronouncement that is when he could challenge. You did not make a pronouncement and he got up to say that we needed a division. That application was totally wrong and it does not sit in our Standing Orders.
Mr Speaker 1:35 p.m.
Hon Members, Order!
Hon Members, I am very conversant with the rules and actually by virtue of the rules per se and when we go to court we apply the law and we also apply equity. If we were to follow the rules, that application was belated. I am very mindful of that. Strictly speaking I would have been functus officio having pronounced -
- but early on, I had caused the ballot papers to be prepared. We want to be sure and we want to illustrate to the world, especially in the light of too many difficulties around us. That was why I said you have appealed unto Caesar and unto Caesar you would appear.
At the same time, the list would be called. The ballot papers are already ready. By the close of the process, the whole of our people would know clearly and without doubt the votes of this honourable House.
Please, two tellers from each Side should come forward so that we could quickly go through the process.
Mr Speaker 3:15 p.m.
Order! All those who are in favour of the Motion that the Majority recommendation that the House --

Question put and the House was counted.

Ayes -- 106

Noes -- 92

Abstentions -- 0

Resolved accordingly.
Mr Speaker 3:15 p.m.


The House adopts the Report accordingly and allows the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (C.I. 126) to come into force at the expiration of 21 Sitting days in accordance with article 11 (7) of the 1992 Constitution.

It must be made clear that the Constitution provides in article 11 (7) that:

“Any Order, Rule or Regulation made by a person or authority under a power conferred by this Constitution or any other law shall --

(a) be laid before Parliament;

(b) be published in the Gazette on the day it is laid before Parliament; and

(c) come into force at the expiration of twenty-one sitting days after being so laid unless Parliament, before the expiration of the twenty-one days, annuls the Order, Rule or Regulation by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of Parliament.”

By that, you will need about 184 Hon Members of Parliament to vote against the C. I. to defeat it. On the contrary, it is overwhelmingly upheld --

Order!

By virtue of the requisite number of the two-thirds membership of this House to annul it. The decision is very clear.

Order!

Hon Majority Leader, any indication?
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, as you said, we needed two- thirds majority to annul the Instrument in spite of the spirited attempt, one- third of the House voted to annul it instead of the two-thirds.
Mr Speaker, it explains why you said, overwhelming -- [Laughter] -- it has been overwhelmingly accepted and so I believe that having worked to this extent, we can take an adjournment and continue tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the forenoon.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu 3:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, I rightly support the Motion
for adjournment and given the time, we are in your hands. I do not intend to go into the matter. The records will speak for Ghana's democracy and this is where we stood when we were called as to whether only passport and national identification cards should be the basis for the voter registration for the conduct of elections. History will be a better judge.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu 3:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker, if you have concluded by the declaration of the result, I would just crave your indulgence to have one Paper presented before we take leave of the House.
Mr Speaker, the Paper would be presented on behalf of the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development by a Deputy Minister.
PAPERS 3:15 p.m.
Mr Speaker 3:15 p.m.
Hon Members, it is past 3 o'clock, and this House stands adjourned till tomorrow at 10.00 am.
ADJOURNMENT 3:15 p.m.
  • The House was adjourned at 3.26 p. m. till Wednesday, 10th June, 2020 at 10.00 a.m.