No ROPAL Victory For Common Sense – NDC Canada

NDC Canada welcomes the decision of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana not to implement the Representation of the People’s (Amendment) Law (ROPAL) during the 2008 elections. The decision is very appropriate and a victory for common sense.

EC’s decision is a vindication for the NDC as a party, other opposition parties and majority of concerned Ghanaians (resident and non-resident) who questioned the wisdom and the good intentions of the ruling NPP government led by Mr. J.A. Kufour in the manner in which they handled and rushed to pass this bill into law while allowing other bills which are more urgent and important to majority of Ghanaians to rot on the shelves of parliament. ROPAL is a controversial law that lacks consensus from the good people of Ghana and must be rejected by all and sundry.

NDC Canada thinks ROPAL is recipe for disaster and chaos that can degenerate badly to throw our young democracy out of gear. We feel that at this stage of the nation’s history, the EC lacks the necessary resources and logistics to engage in this costly political exercise.

Article 46 of the Constitution of Ghana says among other things that: “the Electoral Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority”. Sadly however, the EC of Ghana is under-funded and depends on over 40% of donor support to organize elections in Ghana. It lacks the needed logistics and the human resource to organize and monitor elections even in Ghana satisfactorily. So how could the NPP think the EC in its current state can organize and monitor election process for Ghanaians world-wide based on the questionable system they adopted?

In addition, countries that practice the same idea for their citizens abroad, have accurate data of their citizens abroad. In our case, Ghana has absolutely no data of her citizens living in various countries across the globe. So how would the EC determined who is a Ghanaian eligible to register and vote when voters register is opened as stipulated by the constitution?

The NDC is aware of the numerous desperate efforts of the NPP to manipulate the EC of Ghana including the Diaspora votes to rig the 2008 general elections. We are aware of the blotted voters’ register full of ghost names. NDC wishes to call on the EC to act and act now to provide a proper platform for a free and fair election by deleting the ghost names from the voters’ register. Anything short of a free and fair election would be met with appropriate response to restore the will of the Ghanaian people. If anyone thinks the NDC is going to sit down for the Ghanaian people to be publicly raped by the NPP like it did in the 2004 elections, that person should be seriously joking.

NDC Canada wishes to re-affirm that the NDC is not in principle against the idea of Ghanaians living abroad to register and vote. We are against the haphazard manner this NPP government handled this whole affair without consensus. We wish to remind all Ghanaians living everywhere that Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 clearly states that; “Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.” Again Section 2(1) of the Political Parties Act 2003 gives right to every Ghanaian to participate in political activity which can influence the composition of government and her policies. There is no mention of geographical location as a limitation to the right to vote.

Long Live the NDC! Long Live Ghana! Eye Zu! Eye Za! Eye Zuzu!! Eye Zaza!!