Countrymen and women, loyalists and opponents,
it is my pleasure to bring to your notice that I have assented to the recent amendments to the representation of the people law. What that means is that with a stroke of my pen I have made it possible for Sikaman citizens abroad to vote in future elections.
I know there are many amongst you who do not like the idea of our brethren (and sistren) abroad voting ? for so many reasons I disagree with. Try as much as I did, we couldn?t build consensus on the bill. But when a man?s gotta do what a man?s gotta do, a man will do what a man?s gotta do. Get my drift? So I told parliament to go ahead and pass the damn bill without the minority side and even as citizens protesting against the bill were being brutalized by police personnel on the streets of Accra. An opinion poll conducted in my mind indicated that most citizens either didn?t like the bill or wanted us to exercise more caution with its passage and implementation. I wanted to put the brakes on the bill a little but I was annoyed by the utterances and actions of some opposition leaders. I had little choice than to show them ?where power lies?. I wouldn?t sit down for Binbag and his opposition bunch to show me how to do my job. Don?t challenge anyone who tells you that I signed the bill even before it was passed.
Countrymen and women, loyalists and opponents,
it is my pleasure to bring to your notice that I have assented to the recent amendments to the representation of the people law. What that means is that with a stroke of my pen I have made it possible for Sikaman citizens abroad to vote in future elections.
I know there are many amongst you who do not like the idea of our brethren (and sistren) abroad voting ? for so many reasons I disagree with. Try as much as I did, we couldn?t build consensus on the bill. But when a man?s gotta do what a man?s gotta do, a man will do what a man?s gotta do. Get my drift? So I told parliament to go ahead and pass the damn bill without the minority side and even as citizens protesting against the bill were being brutalized by police personnel on the streets of Accra. An opinion poll conducted in my mind indicated that most citizens either didn?t like the bill or wanted us to exercise more caution with its passage and implementation. I wanted to put the brakes on the bill a little but I was annoyed by the utterances and actions of some opposition leaders. I had little choice than to show them ?where power lies?. I wouldn?t sit down for Binbag and his opposition bunch to show me how to do my job. Don?t challenge anyone who tells you that I signed the bill even before it was passed.
