The Electoral Commission says it cannot guarantee prisoners will vote in the 2012 general elections despite the Supreme Court ruling which mandates the commission to make provision prisoners in all public elections. This is because there are more technical issues which need to be addressed first, the commission says. Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, told Joy News that although the Supreme Court’s decision will be respected, a lot needs to be done to enfranchise prison voters. “The commission will have to meet with the technical people and see how this law can be implemented. It may be feasible tomorrow but it depends on what the technical people think is feasible,” Dr Afari Gyan said. The Supreme Court in a landmark decision Tuesday declared null and void section 7(5) of the PNDC Law 285 which imposes a residency requirement on prisoners as condition for voting. The court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, said the PNDC Law is inconsistent with Article 42 of the 1992 constitution which gives all Ghanaians above 18 years the right to vote. The court directed the EC to come out with a Constitutional Instrument (CI) to create the legal framework that will facilitate the inclusion of prisoners in the voters register for the next general election. The unanimous decision came after the court upheld an application filed on behalf of remand and convicted prisoners by two legal practitioners, Messrs Ahumah Ocansey and Kojo Graham of the Centre for 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 PNDC Law 284 which barred remand and convicted prisoners from voting. The Attorney-General and the EC were jointly sued. The A-G's Department had opposed the suit on the grounds that the reliefs being sought by the two lawyers were against the public interest, while the EC had prayed the court to exclude it from the suit. The court, however, disagreed. In a three-and-a-half-hour ruling, the court, which had Dr Justice S. K. Date-Bah, Ms Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Jones Dotse and Mr Justice Annin Yeboah as its members, ruled that, The 1992 Constitution, per Article 42, grants all citizens of Ghana who are 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. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana *Additional information was taken from the Daily Graphic