The Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr Rasheed Draman, has backed government's decision to allow dual citizens to contest parliamentary elections and endorsed the proposal to expand Parliament to 300 seats.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic after the release of government's position on the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) report, Dr Draman said Ghanaians with dual citizenship had built strong networks and useful experience abroad which, if allowed into politics, could benefit the country, just as they already contributed economically.
"Some may say there is a possibility of betrayal, lack of allegiance to country and so on, but all those could be cured if we have very strong institutions," Dr Draman said, citing other democracies where opposition leaders held dual citizenship without incident.
"The high office of president will need complete and sole focus of the person who occupies this office in order to avoid any distractions... The holder of that office has a lot of discretion and also has a lot of immunity," Dr Draman said, adding that dual citizens could safely serve as Chief Justice or Speaker of Parliament under strong checks and balances.
300-seat Parliament
On the proposal to expand Parliament from 276 to 300 members, with 24 extra seats filled through proportional representation (PR), the governance expert said: "It offers significant opportunities to ensure that at least women's representation, hopefully, is increased, and other vulnerable groups who normally would not be able to get a seat at the table are given the opportunity."
He added that the PR window could also cut the cost of politics for candidates without deep financial resources.
Guard against abuse
"We should not reward people politically, or reward people ethnically, or reward people religiously, but truly take advantage and make this opportunity truly count and contribute to the picture of the Parliament of our country," Dr Draman said, calling for clear criteria and mechanisms to help groups such as persons with disabilities participate meaningfully in parliamentary work.
Context
The CRC presented its final report to President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House in December last year.
Government's accepted package also includes a five-year presidential term, direct election of MMDCEs and abolition of the death penalty.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, announced government's acceptance of the CRC recommendation scrapping the requirement for Ghanaians by birth to renounce foreign citizenship before contesting parliamentary seats.
Dual citizenship will also no longer bar a person from becoming Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament or Electoral Commission Chairperson, though the restriction remains for President and Vice-President. The amendments are expected before Parliament, with a referendum planned alongside the 2027 District Assembly elections.
