A Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu is appealing to the Electoral Commission to maintain the old voters register until effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is minimal, although the Supreme Court has given it the green light to do so.

The lawyer said compiling a new voters register while Covid cases are still increasing will not be appropriate because many lives will be put at risk, and a fear of the pandemic will also hinder many Ghanaians from participating in the registration process.

He therefore says it will be prudent for the EC to wait at least until the effects of the pandemic is minimal before continuing with the process.

“Because of this Corona thing, turn out for the registration will be lower because people are really scared. I’m terribly scared so I really don’t see why I should go and take an extra risk.

“Some weeks ago, in an interview with Samson Anyeni on Newsfile, Director of Electoral Services at the EC Mr. Serebour Quaicoe said if the EC was unable to go ahead with compile a new register, we could manage the old one. So we are begging the EC to manage the old one then after this corona scare is done they can compile a new register,” he told Emefa Apau on Newsnite.

Mr. Kpebu’s appeal comes after Supreme Court ruled in favor of the EC in a case filed by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a private citizen.

The NDC and a Private citizen Mark Takyi-Banson filed a case asking the Supreme Court to stop the EC from compiling the new voter register or allow the use of the birth certificate and voters ID card by prospective voters as proof of identification.

The Court, however, in a unanimous decision has ruled that the Electoral Commission has the power to compile a new register.

Despite the ruling from the court, Mr. Kpebu believes that the EC can improvise and use the old register until the effects of the pandemic are mild.

He urged the EC to be "magnanimous in victory" and consider using the old voter register to conduct the 2020 election "at least for the safety of citizens in this era of Covid-19."

“I was hoping that the court was going to declare that because of the corona scare and all that, the court will rule that we can use the old voters register and we can vote during December without going through any registration but that’s not the court has said. The court said we  are starting on a clean sheet

"But moving forward, I’m making a passionate appeal to the EC to be very magnanimous in victory. Corona is still with us here so it’s possible for the Ec to look at the Situation now and the sit then forward and decide that they woyld suspend the new registration for now.

“The issue has been with foreigners especially people from neighboring countries coming in to vote but we can deploy the military along the borders to prevent the foreigners from coming in. we can do something about it, because this disease, its really scary and it easily spreads so we are making a passionate appeal to the EC to be magnanimous in victory that yes, they can analyse everything and then turn around and we will them applaud them for being magnanimous in victory by saying that they will compile the register later on

Meanwhile, the EC says it is set to begin the voter registration exercise on Tuesday.