Commission EC ROPAA schools Actors of the civil society

Policy of Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-04-17

On Tuesday, more than 50 civil society actors were sensitized to the law amending the law on the representation of peoples (ROPAA), while seeking their contribution as strategic actors in the implementation of the the electoral law of the diaspora.

Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, Chair of the ROPAA Implementation Committee of the Electoral Commission, explained the problems with the registration requirements, the authentication of the residence permit, detention centers and the registration and polling stations.

Other issues discussed included the appointment of registration and election officers, the manner and frequency of registration, the design of registration forms, difficulties in registration, the processing of applications for registration, petition against decisions of foreign registration review boards and voter register display.

Mr Asare, also Acting Chairman of the Commission, explained that the implementation of the ROPAA law obliged the Commission to draw up a regulation, in the form of a constitutional instrument (CI), governing the registration of voters and the conduct of elections in foreign countries.

He indicated that at the end of the work of the Advisory and Implementation Committee of the ROPAA, a technical group would be formed to develop regulations for the external vote, and that the Parliament would forward it to an IC. here the end of December 2019.

He added that the ROPAA now gives Ghanaian citizens residing outside the country the right to register on the list of voters and to vote where he / she lives; "It has been 12 years since the ROPAA came into effect, but Ghanaian citizens living abroad do not yet benefit from the opportunities offered by the ROPAA.

"This is because of the obvious challenges that will probably be encountered during the implementation of the ROPAA".

He recalled that in the past, the EC, under the leadership of Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, had been trying to find a way to implement the ROPAA that would be acceptable to all stakeholders, by setting up a committee in 2011 in order to implement the ROPAA.
"Seven years later, the right to be registered and vote in elections and public referendums remains inaccessible to Ghanaians living outside Ghana," he said.

Dr. Asare said that much had changed since the presentation of the report of the committee created by Dr. Afari-Gyan. stating that it was necessary that in trying to implement the ROPAA now, stakeholders take into account the new developments in the electoral process of Ghana.

This is why the Advisory and Implementation Committee was formed to continue the process after its suspension, starting in 2011.

Reverend Ernest Adu Gyamfi, from the National Peace Council, member of the ROPAA Committee of the EC, explained the various issues and called on actors from civil society organizations to send a memorandum to the committee.

Dr. Koma S. Jehu-Appiah, Country Manager for Ipas Ghana, expressed concern over the ROPAA, urging state actors to be cautious, as any technical challenge could plunge the country into an electoral crisis .

Ms. Mabel Viviey, StarGhana Foundation Communications Officer, said that despite the challenges, "Ghana should move forward and implement it, while progressively tackling the challenges as it evolves. measure of their appearance ".

Mr. Bright Appiah, Child Rights International, supported the argument for compiling data based on all Ghanaians apart from the following statement: "Ghanaians in the diaspora must register with all our embbadies.

"We must first have a database and know how many Ghanaians we are dealing with who are eligible to vote," he said.

Following a plea of ​​interest groups, a bill was introduced in Parliament in 2006, the bill to amend the representative of the people (ROPAB) to change the representation of the law People's Statute, Law 284 of the PDNC.

PNDC Law 284 did not provide that Ghanaian citizens other than those working in Ghana's diplomatic missions, persons working with international organizations of which Ghana is a member, and Ghanaian government grant students should be registered in their country of residence.

The ROPAA, Law 2006, ACT 699 was therefore adopted to extend the right of Ghana to participate in the vote in public elections and referendums of Ghanaians living outside Ghana.

The nine-member EC ROPAA Committee is chaired by Mr Asare, Vice-President of the Commission, in charge of Corporate Services, and Mr Christian Owusu-Parry, Director of Administration of the European Commission. , as secretary.

The other members of the Committee include Ms. Adwoa Abrefa Asuama, Member of the EC; Mr. John Boadu, Secretary General of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); and Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The others are Reverend Ernest Adu Gyamfi of the National Peace Council; Professor Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana, and Dr. Kojo Asante of Ghana's Center for Democratic Development (CDD) and Mr. Kofi Akpaloo, representing other minority parties.