The Minority caucus in Parliament has lamented that the Electoral Commission’s decision to abandon the use of indelible in the upcoming election is a constitutional breach.
According to the caucus, the commission cannot preach any protocols without the consent of parliament.
“The issue of the non-use of the indelible ink breaches the law…Mr Speaker, you cannot come to Parliament with an instrument where protocols have been outlined and you as an administrative fiat decide that you won’t go according to the protocol”, they said.
The caucus disclosed that the use of indelible ink is part of the rules and regulations of every election and cannot be scrapped without any measures being taken.
“The use of indelible ink is part of the regulations that we put in the instrument for the effective performance of the Electoral Commissioner so, you cannot decide that you would not apply it. She must do things that will help her perform effectively”, they added.
This comes after the EC announced plans to scrap the ink, traditionally applied to voters’ fingers to prevent multiple voting, in favour of more “modern” verification methods.
The EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, announced that in the district-level election and subsequent polls, there would be no need for indelible ink as part of efforts to improve the electoral process.
