The Electoral Commission (EC) is asking the Supreme Court not to allow policy think tank IMANI Africa, Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) and two others to join the cases filed against the compilation of a new register. The groups have been at the forefront of the push to ensure the EC does not undertake the exercise insisting it is a waste of scarce resources.

Lawyers for the Group have filed an amicus brief application. This is a request by someone who is not a party to a case to be allowed to join it to demonstrate expertise or provide knowledge that will have a bearing on the case.

An affidavit in opposition to this request signed by the EC’s Chairperson Jean Mensah says the groups have not drawn the court’s attention to any law or decision that appears to have been overlooked by the parties in the case. She also says they have failed to demonstrate any expertise in law or regarding the matter pending to merit audience in the case. She adds further that the groups have shown over time that they have an interest in the case “in their public utterances”.

Granting this application the Commissioner says will only give them an opportunity to re-argue the plaintiffs’ case abuse the court’s process aside from unnecessarily delaying it. She, therefore, wants the case to be dismissed.

The other groups seeking to join this case are Conservative Policy Research Centre and Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation.

There are currently two cases pending at the apex court filed by the NDC and one Mark Takyi Banson all seeking various reliefs relative to the register compilation. Another one is at the High Court filed by Ashaiman MP Ernest Norgbey asking for the EC to be stopped from undertaking the exercise.