A former Justice of the Supreme Court, William Anaam Atuguba, is asking the Electoral Commission to appreciate the power of the people as stated in the 1992 Constitution and not take any action that undermines it.
According to him, the Article 1 clause 1 of the constitution is the most important provision in the law which must be respected by every other institution.
Explaining the provision, the legal luminary said it is against the laws of the land to take an action that violates the sovereignty of the State which resides in the people.
Justice Atuguba was speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 Thursday, September 19, 2024, when he made the comments.
“Article 1 clause 1 is the most important provision in the entire Constitution. Article 1(1) The sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana, in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised in the manner and within the limits laid down in this Constitution.
“So all exercise of constitutional power is to be geared towards the interest and welfare of the people as the sovereign of the country. And I’m at pains to see how a sovereign power whose interest and welfare have to be served have all those needs of constitutional power have to be served.
“Nobody has absolute power that detracts from the welfare and interest of the people under this constitution. That’s the central requirement. I’m sorry in Africa, and this particularly in this country, people look at power in absolute terms,” he explained.
His comments come on the back of the tussle between the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Electoral Commission where the latter is refusing to heed to the former’s call for a forensic audit of the 2024 electoral roll.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the EC to conduct a forensic audit on the 2024 Voters’ register after it detected some illegal transfer and other anomalies in the document when the Commission exhibited the roll.
The party staged a demonstration dubbed ‘Enough is Enough’ on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, where a petition was presented to all 16 regional offices of the Commission to demand for the audit.
Prior to the protest, the EC had responded to the NDC’s call for the audit, saying it has corrected the errors presented to it. However, it noted that it is not going to exhibit it for the parties to see the corrections that have been made.
With the NDC saying it has more evidence of anomalies on the roll, it is calling for a third party intervention together with all the parties and the EC for a concensus to be reached.
Meanwhile, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it will also hit the streets should the EC heed to the calls of the NDC.
2024 voters’ register: EC’s posture on call for forensic audit dictatorial – Justice Atuguba
