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A group of journalist has dragged the electoral commision EC to court over its decision to ask journalist to pay for accreditation in order to cover this year’s general Election.
The EC, in statement released on october 31 ,2016 asked journalists who wished to cover the presidential and parliamentary elections to pay a fee of GHc10 for accreditation.
But the group, International standards journalists Association (ISJA) in the suit file at the Human Right court , claimed that the move by the EC was breach of the foundamental human rights of the journalist to vote.
According to the group , the right to vote includes the right to know whether the EC had acted properly throughout,at all material at all material times.
The right to transparency of election management is not the preserve of political parties or candidate but it is the right of every voter in Ghana.
The group is also arguing that the EC’s decision was unfair and unreasonable because foreign journalists who had been approved to cover the elections were not being ask to pay money to the commission as a condition for the issuing of the accreditation tags.
The group is therefore, seeking a declaration from the court that the decission by the commission was a breach on the fundamental human right of Ghanaians journalists.
They also want an order from the court compelling the EC to issue accreditation tags to qualified Ghanaian journalists without demanding any financial payment from them to cover the 2016 election.
ISJA further wants an order compelling the EC to refund any money paid by every journalist for the accreditation tags;
edited by Nsempakani Nana kwabena Addo
