A Supreme Court judge Justice Jones Dotse says the Court was clear in ordering the removal of names of NHIS card holders from the voters' register, settling a controversial debate over the judgment.

“We said the use of the NHIS card is, therefore, unconstitutional and so they should take the opportunity to clear the register of those undesirable persons…period,that’s it,” he said in an interview with reporters during a training programme for some judges.

His comments almost settle the controversy after the Electoral Commission last week said its understanding of the judgment had nothing to do with removing NHIS card registrants.

Chairperson of the Electoral Commission Charlotte Osei [middle]

The Electoral Commission stoked controversy over the Supreme Court judgment after it suggested it had a different understanding.

In a May 19 statement, the Electoral Commission interpreted the order to mean that;

“For persons who registered with NHIA cards, such registrations were lawful at the time of registration, and the subsequent declaration of unconstitutionality in the earlier Abu Ramadan case, does not automatically render them void’. Such a position according to the Supreme Court, “would have the effect of disenfranchising the persons affected”

While hesitant in giving his opinion of the judgment, Justice Jones Dotse clarified that an NHIS card cannot be used as proof of citizenship.

" ...the criteria for the NHIS card was not based on Ghanaian citizenship but only on residence in Ghana so any foreigner in Ghana who is resident in Ghana for six months or more can register for the NHIS card", he explained a 2015 judgment that formed the basis of its recent ruling.

He further explained that the EC should provide a second chance for any Ghanaian who registered with the NHIS card to re-register using the right identification.

"...If anybody is aggrieved [with the judgment] then they should come back to court" Justice Dotse said.

The judgment came after an opposition politician Abu Ramadan dragged the EC to court. The politician asked the court to grant a relief that "the current register of voters which contains the names of persons who have not established qualification to be registered is not reasonably accurate or credible."

Abu Ramadan was incensed after the Electoral Commission's statement and vowed to cite all seven commissioners for contempt.

“If the court spoke in French, the court can speak in English for them to understand the language” he fumed on Joy News' Top Story.

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