Deputy Chairman Corporate Services of the Electoral Commission (EC) and Chairman of ROPAA, Dr Bossman E. Asare

EC on a 9-day tour to engage with Ghanaians in USA on ROPAA

graphic.com.gh Politics Oct - 31 - 2019 , 12:15

The Electoral Commission will on Friday, November 1, pay a nine-day working visit to the United States of America (USA) to hold consultative meetings with Ghanaians in the diaspora on the Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA).

The meetings are aimed at collating feedback which would be factored into the operationalisation of the Act which gives Ghanaians in the Diaspora the right to vote from abroad.

The delegation from the Electoral Commission (EC), led by the Deputy Chairman in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Bossman E. Asare, would meet with recognised Ghanaian groups in Washington, DC, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and New Jersey as well as the US Federal Election Commission in Washington, DC.

Other members of the delegation are senior officials of the EC, representatives of the political parties and Civil Society Organisations, a statement issued Thursday and signed by Dr Asare, who also doubles as Chairman of the ROPAA Committee said.

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The ROPAA Committee earlier this year organised regional visits as well as a trip to Senegal for further consultations with Ghanaians to learn best practices and make recommendations on how ROPAA can be successfully implemented.

The Representative of the People Amendment Bill (ROPAB) was introduced in Parliament in 2006 to amend the Representation of the People's Law of 1992 PDNC Law 284.

The PNDC Law 284 did not make provision for Ghanaian citizens other than persons working in Ghana's diplomatic missions, persons working with international organisations of which Ghana is a member and Ghanaian students on the government scholarship to be registered in the countries where they reside.

The ROPAA, Act 2006, ACT 699 was therefore passed to extend the right of Ghanaians living outside the country to participate in voting in public elections and referenda.