NDC Central Regional Chairman, Allotey Jacobs has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to stop the implementation of the Representation of the People's Amendment Law (ROPAL).
According to him, it is near impossible for the EC to roll out the project under this dispensation.
He outlined some challenges associated with the implementation of the Act saying the Commission has no census on Ghanaians abroad to determine the number of eligible voters.
He wondered how the Commission would be able to deploy agents to foreign countries to assist in the electoral process should Ghanaian nationals be given the right to participate in the national elections.
Though admitting that the ROPAL is a good initiative, Allotey Jacobs believed several issues should be critically assessed before it can become feasible.
Allotey Jacobs further noted that implementing the law means the various High Commissioners would be roped in to spearhead the project but he questioned the Commission's ability to avoid government and political interferences since the High Commissioners are appointed by the President.
To him, the EC is dealing with several problems at the moment, paramount among them is the corruption allegations against the Commissioners and so it is prudent that the ROPAL is halted for the future generations to implement it.
“Electoral Commission should convince political parties and government should not involve itself in it . . . There’s suspicion from both political parties. I’m telling you. These two major political parties, there’s that suspicion that when you implement it, it’s going to favour you so we won’t allow it. That’s why we saying it’s a ghost and it’s haunting us; so we should let it rest in its tomb. Maybe future generation is coming and they will implement it,” he said on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo'.
The NDC Vice National Chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo supported the comments by the party's Central Regional Chairman as he also advised the EC to be cautious about implementing the Act until they have addressed the challenges.
“Let us not rush because (Kwami) if you rush into this and then it backfires, it can create a lot of problems. As we speak now, we don’t even know the number of Ghanaians outside," he said.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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ALLOTEY YOU SPEAK AS IF NO COUNTRY IS SUCCESSFUL TO GET ITS NATIONALS OUTSIDE TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS. YOUR ARGUMENT SHOWS WEAK LOGIC AND REASONING. ANY DOUBTING THOMAS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF ROPAL SHOULD KNOW THAT GHANA IS NOT THE FIRST TO MAKE ITS NATIONALS OUTSIDE TO VOTE. AND GHANA SHALL NOT BE THE LAST TO MAKE ITS NATIONALS OUTSIDE TO VOTE. THERE ARE SO MANY PRECEDENCE FROM MANY NATIONS OF DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND THAT SUCCEED TO MAKE THEIR CITIZENS VOTE. GHANA CANNOT BE THE POOREST OF THE NATIONS THAT GET THEIR CITIZENS IN THE DIASPORA TO VOTE.
The NDC is so uncomfortable with ROPAA and I don't understand. On one hand Allotey says ROPAA is a good idea yet he says it should not be implemented. Let him know that the court has spoken and it will have to be obeyed no matter how distasteful it is to the NDC.