The Electoral Commission (EC) would not defy a court decision ordering it to operationalize the Representation of People Amendment Act (ROPAA) to allow Ghanaians abroad to vote in national elections, the Commission has said.
An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Anthony Yeboah in 2017 had ruled in favour of some five Ghanaians in the diaspora who sued the Commission to compel it [EC] to implement ROPAA so they could vote in national elections.
Addressing ROPAA consultative meeting in Wa, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chairman of the EC and a member of the Committee, said the court ordered the EC to prepare a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) and lay it before Parliament within 12 months to operationalize ROPAA to franchise Ghanaians outside to partake in national polls.
“The Commission is complying with the court order, hence the need for broader stakeholder consultations that would lead to the best and effective implementation of (ROPAA),” he said.
“We are complying with the order and our mission here is to seek your opinion and advice on how best to implement ROPAA”.
Dr Asare said the EC could not act within the 12 months ultimatum given by the court because it was faced with the Lower Manya Krobo District election, referendum on the creation of the six new regions, and other official duties.
The Commission, therefore, applied for an extension, he added, and another 12 months was granted to enable the EC lay a Legislative Instrument before Parliament for implementation of ROPAA.
A leading member of the largest opposition party National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a member of ROPAA Committee, Dr Benjamin Kumbour, urged participants to give concrete suggestions that would lead to effective implementation of the Act.
He also implored participants to stop protracted arguments and condemnations against one another which would retard the progress of discussions and effective implementation of ROPAA.
He said the 2017 high court ruling did not only franchise the five Ghanaians who sued the EC but extended the voting right to all other Ghanaians living in the diaspora no matter their geographical location.
Source: GNA
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
IT IS NOT A FIRST TIME CITIZENS OF A COUNTRY IN ABROAD WOULD VOTE. WE HAVE MANY COUNTRIES FROM EVERY CONTINENT WHO ARRANGE FOR THEIR CITIZENS TO VOTE. SOME OF SUCH COUNTRIES ARE VERY SIMILAR TO GHANA IN MANY RESPECTS. WE SHOULD LEARN FROM THEM. EVEN THOUGH GHANA DOES NOT HAVE EMBASSIES IN ALL UNITED NATION RECOGNIZED COUNTRIES, EVERY SUCH COUNTRIES OUTSIDE GHANA IS CONNECTED TO SOME GHANAIAN EMBASSIES. E.G IN 2000s MY PASSPORT EXPIRED WHILE IN PHILIPPINES WHERE THERE WAS NO GHANA EMBASSY I DID NOT COME TO GHANA TO RENEW IT. IT WAS DONE FOR ME IN CHINA. SO EVERY COUNTRY OUTSIDE GHANA IS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF A PARTICULAR GHANA EMBASSY. SUCH EMBASSIES WOULD BECOME IN CHARGE OF CITIZENS WHO BECOME INTERESTED TO VOTE. IT WOULD NOT BE EASY FOR EVERYBODY WITHOUT A COST. SOME WOULD HAVE TO TRAVELLED SOME GOOD DISTANCE TO ATTAIN THAT FEAT. EVEN BACK HOME, IN GHANA, ACCESS TO POLLING STATION IS NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY. SOME WALK FOR LESS THAN 5 MINS TO GET TO THEIR POLLING STATIONS. OTHERS HAVE TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCE AND OTHERS USE FERRIES TO GO OVER LAKES AND RIVERS TO GET TO THEIR POLLING STATIONS. IT TAKES A WHOLE DAY FOR SOME TO TRAVEL IN AND OUT TO GET TO POLLING STATIONS AND VOTE. THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION SHOULD HAVE TO MAP OUT THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR EVERY CITIZENS TO MEET THEIR OWN CHALLENGES. AFTER ALL IS NOT EVERYBODY IN GHANA WHO WOULD VOTE EVEN IF THE POLLING STATIONS IS SITED IN THEIR HOUSE.
WE IN DIASPORA WILL VOTE FOR NPP AGAIN AGAIN AND AGAIN
I wonder how the ROPAA will be implemented. Will the implementation include Ghanaians living everywhere or those in selected countries. There are Ghanaians living in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Libya, Sudan, Guinea, Gambia, Cameroun, USA, Russia, Ukraine, UK etc. How will these Ghanaians be registered. How will they be allowed to vote?
We are waiting for ROPAA to vote out nana addo from office for disappointing us in the diaspora. We can even bring items to Ghana any longer because of high taxes killing us. We thought John mahama was not doing well, not knowing nana addo was only lying to us. He said he will remove nuisance taxes, but now there are even more. Jean mensah, please, hurry up so we can vote him out and subsequently be able to ship our cars home and do our business for profit.