Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ACCRA1615
2005-08-10 17:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

PROPOSED LAW GIVES GHANAIANS OVERSEAS VOTING

Tags:  GH PGOV PREL 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 001615 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: GH PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: PROPOSED LAW GIVES GHANAIANS OVERSEAS VOTING
RIGHTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 001615

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: GH PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: PROPOSED LAW GIVES GHANAIANS OVERSEAS VOTING
RIGHTS


1. (U) Summary: The ruling NPP party has proposed a law to
enable Ghanaian citizens abroad to vote in elections. The
opposition NDC party opposes the draft bill, fears the NPP
wants to push it through, and says it will boycott the 2008
election if the bill is passed. The debate on the bill died
down since parliament went on recess. However, the issue
will likely rise again when parliament reconvenes in October
and it threatens to further polarize Ghanaian politics. End
summary.


2. (U) On May 20, the ruling New Patriotic Party submitted
a draft Representation of the People (Amendment) bill on the
floor of parliament. The bill proposes to amend a 1992 law
to enable Ghanaian citizens resident abroad to vote in
elections. The proposed law states that the Electoral
Commission may appoint the Head of a Ghana Mission or Embassy
abroad or any other designed person or institution as a
registration officer for an election

--------------
Arguments in Favor
--------------


3. (U) Proponents of the bill argue that, while the 1992
constitution gives every citizen of voting age the right to
vote, since independence Ghanians resident abroad have been
denied this right. The 1992 Representation of the People law
gives the right to vote to any Ghanaian employed in a post
outside Ghana in the service of the government, the United
Nations, or any other international organization. Proponents
further argue that the 2000 Citizenship Act makes it much
easier to determine Ghanaian citizenship.


4. (U) NPP Majority Leader and Minister of Parliament Felix
Awuso Adjepong told PolChief that the NPP has no intention of
ramming through this bill in this parliamentary session. He
hoped the current debate would allow the bill to be seriously
considered in the next parliamentary session starting in
October. Overseas Ghanaians have complained that, while they
contribute significantly to Ghana in terms of remittances,
they are not able to vote. He accused the NDC of
politicizing the bill, saying that Ghanaians had raised
objections to many legislative initiatives in the past (such
as the creation of national health insurance or a national
identification card) and had worked through objections. He
expected the same process would enable eventual passage of a
People's Representation Bill.

--------------
The Opposition's Views
--------------


5. (SBU) On July 14, the main opposition National
Democratic Convention (NDC) party's presidential candidate in
2004 John Atta Mills and several other NDC leaders called on
the Ambassador to convey their concerns about this bill.
While he agreed in principle that Ghanaians everywhere should
be entitled to vote, Mills believed there were not currently
sufficient safeguards against possible fraud and abuse. The
bill envisions overseas balloting overseen by Ghanaian
Foreign Service Officers and Ambassadors, many of whom are
partial to the ruling party, according to Mills. Mills said
the draft law applies to "Ghanaians resident abroad," but it
is not clear how this will be defined (for example, does it
apply to dual nationals, illegal aliens, and the estimated
two million Ghanaian citizens living in Togo, Cote d'Ivoire,
and Nigeria?) According to the NDC, the law does not
establish a credible system to review or challenge votes. It
is not clear how the GOG will establish or fund voting
facilities in every country in the world, especially since a
large percentage of national elections is donor funded, Mills
said.


6. (SBU) The NDC is convinced that the NPP plans to use its
parliamentary majority to force this bill through, with or
without NDC support. Mills told the Ambassador that if this
happens, the NDC will boycott the next national election.
(The NDC boycotted the regional dialogues which the NPP
organized on this issue). Instead, the NDC argues for a
postponement of the bill during a period of national
consultations which would include the Electoral Commission.
The Ambassador agreed that it made sense to carefully debate
this bill, including consulting with the Electoral
Commission.

--------------
Comment
--------------


7. (SBU) The controversy around this bill dominated media
coverage and political debate for the past month. The bill
was not forced through the last parliamentary session, as
some in the NDC feared, but it will likely be revisited when
parliament reconvenes in October. Voting for overseas
Ghanaians is a long-standing issue which gets debated from
time to time (including prior to the 2004 election) and until
now has receded amidst controversy. Its revival as an issue
now may be a diversionary tactic by the NPP to take attention
away from the presidential corruption allegations which
earlier made the headlines. However, it may also be a
genuine attempt by the NPP to capture overseas votes, many of
which they may calculate will be NPP-supporters. We will
continue to track the issue and encourage both parties to
work cooperatively on it.





YATES