Ashaiman MP, Ernest Norgbey, has headed to the Accra High Court, praying for an interlocutory mandatory injunction to compel the Electoral Commission to release some procurement information to him.

The suit, filed in the Human Rights Division of the court, comes after the EC declined to release procurement information on its decision to compile a new voters’ register to legislator.

Mr. Norgbey argues the election management body’s decision not to release the information to him, violates his rights under Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution which guarantees the right to information.

He said the EC’s explanation that the fees payable for his request, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2019, have not been approved by Parliament is not tenable.

The MP wants the court to compel the EC to release the procurement information about its consultants before they begin the compilation of the new register.

He says if his request is not granted before the EC begins compilation of the new register, it would make it impossible to mount an effective challenge against the legality of the process.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP tells the court in his suit that he is ready to pay all fees determined by it for the release of the document.

The case is set to be heard on April 13, 2020.

Meanwhile, NDC has in a separate development, sued the EC over the decision to compile the new voters’ register.

The NDC argues that the Constitution only gives the EC the power to compile a voters’ register once and then subsequently revise it.

The move is part of a series of protests that the NDC has led against the EC’s decision to obtain a new voter management system.

Previously, the party, together with some smaller opposition parties, staged demonstrations in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale demanding that the EC abandon its decision.

The Commission, however, is adamant. According to the EC, the existing voters’ roll is not fit for purpose.

The management system, the EC argues is at its end of life and must be replaced. The registration exercise was scheduled for April 18 but has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.