The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday said if ever Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA) would be implemented, it should be on an “everywhere or nowhere” principle.
According to the Party, so far as it was concerned, every Ghanaian living everywhere on earth must be afforded the opportunity to vote in the national elections.
Mr Peter Boamah Otokunor, the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, said this at a media briefing in Accra to share its concerns on the just-ended referenda.
He said if the government and the Electoral Commission perceived that as an opportunity to let only living places where the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters dominated to vote, to swing elections in NPP’s favour, then they were grossly wrong.
He said the NDC was represented on the Advisory Committee on ROPAA set up by the Electoral Commission to work out modalities for its implementation and there were several issues they would clearly articulate during the committee’s deliberations.
On the Ghana Card and the New Voters’ Register, he said the National identification Authority (NIA) had failed to heed calls from well-meaning segment of society to include the voters’ ID card in the lists of identification materials for registration in the national registration Exercise, yet, the same ID cards qualified voters, to vote in the just-ended referenda.
Mr Otokunor said the Party would not accept any new electoral register compiled based on the Ghana Card, which excludes voter ID cards as a means of identification or registration.
“The NDC is currently holding consultations on the way forward for our members in relation to the on-going Ghana Card registration and we would be issuing directives in that regard in the coming days,” he said.
Source: GNA
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When the reality dons on you and you don't see your way out, then you begin to look for someone to blame. The NDC has already started seeing defeat in 2020 and therefore has started shouting wolf. No matter what you will do or say you will lose big time 2020 even if Asiedu Nketiah becomes the EC boss.
But Otukonor or whatever he calls himself should not forget that remittances sent in by Ghanaians living outside the country where he thinks is the NPP strongholds contribute immensely to the development of the country. What is Otukonnor's contribution to the GDP of Ghana. He should consider himself irrelevant and allow the country to move forward if he thinks the NDC does not want to participate in ROPAA.
THIS SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM AT ALL. IF ONE HAS A GHANA PASSPORT AND IS A RECOGNIZED RESIDENT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, IT SHOULD BECOME EASY FOR EC TO ARRANGE WITH GHANA MISSIONS AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF AFFECTED FOREIGN NATIONS TO GET ONE TO VOTE DURING GHANA ELECTIONS. THE EC MUST DESIGN AN APPROPRIATE FORM AND FEE TO EFFECT THAT.POP
Just asking ooo...I believe the EC is autonomous however, where does the EC derive its powers/rules and regulations from ? I think politics keep taking Ghana aback. We are becoming a bunch of time wasters by politicizing everything including how we brush our teeth. We should wake up as time waits for no man. If people think the EC is off-tracking we all know where to seek redress. Enough noise in the system; we cannot even think straight!
When you're a kid, you think in terms of "either-or", black or white, top or down, basis. Totally binary. When you grow up, you realize life is more complex than this type of dichotomous thinking. Unfortunately, the NDC still have kids leading the pack of their executives who have not yet shed off this mindset. For 99.995% of new initiatives the world over, you cannot start with everywhere-or-nowhere mindset. Sadly unknown to Otukonor, this posture betrays his real intention to the rest of us matured Ghanaians - and that is the NDC does not want ROPAA implemented. Period.