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| People''s Representation Bill |
9/14/2005 |
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People''s Representation Bill
One of the basic duties of every citizen in the world''s countries is to participate in the country''s decision taking process.
This duty is also regarded as a right, which cannot be denied any person under any circumstance.
The right to vote is firmly entrenched in Ghana''s Constitution. Article 42 of the country''s constitution empowers every citizen of Ghana who is eighteen years or over and who is of sound mind to register as a voter and vote in public elections and referenda.
It states, “ Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purpose of public elections and referenda.” It is important to note here that this provision has no geographical limits, indicating that this right is not restricted to residents only in the country.
Section 2(1) of the Political Parties Act 2002 (Act 574) also provides that every citizen of voting age has the right to participate in political activity intended to influence the composition and policies of government, the least of which is the right to vote. Unfortunately most residents living outside the country have not been able to exercise this right, mostly through no fault of theirs.
The people''s representation bill is therefore aimed at enabling Ghanaians living abroad to vote in public elections in the country. From what I understand of the discussions I have had the privilege of witnessing, the bill is to ensure that residents living outside of the country have an opportunity, same as those of their counterparts resident in the country, to take part in the electoral processes of the country. Already in the past, provisions were put in place to ensure that some Ghanaians living abroad could vote. However these constituted only a small fraction of the entire Ghanaian population living outside the shores of the country.
Section 8 of the Representation of the People''s law 1992 (PNDCL284) which came into force in October 2002 provides that citizens employed in the service of the Republic or in the service of the United Nations or of any other international organization can register to vote if they satisfy the requirements for registration prescribed by that law. This meant that only a special category of Ghanaians resident abroad could register to vote.
The current bill is therefore to ensure that this “anomaly” is rectified so that each and every citizen, irrespective of where they may find themselves have an opportunity to participate in the voting process of the country.
There is a little catch here, however. Some people have argued that although it is important to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to vote, it is also imperative to realize that for a country that is in the third world or developing countries'' category it is important to set our priorities right.
Is it realistic to spend money on people who don''t even live in the country? In any case of what significance is the form of government pertaining to their country of origin to people who may not even have visited the country in decades? How relevant will their participation in the country''s elections be since they don''t even live here anyway?
These are questions to which I do not have answers, but speaking to a group of MPs, I got the feeling that this is an issue that will generate a long drawn out debate among our country''s political actors, not to mention ordinary mortals like you and I.
Already I have read in the newspapers that a private legal practitioner has threatened to take Parliament to the Supreme Court if it fails to pass the People''s Representation Bill currently before the House into law. Making references to PNDC law 284 and article one clause two of the 1992 Constitution, he makes the point which has been echoed by other people whose opinion I hold in high regard that the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land and any other law found to be inconsistent with any provision of the constitution shall to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. In simple terms then the 1992 constitution, which says all citizens, could vote (irrespective of their location) overrides the PNDCL 284, which only provides for specific groups of people.
The Minority in Parliament has however expressed divergent views and raised very pertinent issues regarding the practical difficulties involved in the implementation of the bill and what they term the untenable arguments raised by the proponents of the bill.
They maintain that the mere fact that the 1992 constitution provides for the right of a person to vote does not necessarily place a duty on government to extend facilities to every nook and cranny of the world to ensure that citizens exercise this right. Hon. Ben Kumbuor of the NDC for instance thinks this is not exactly realistic. The drain this will put on our economy when we have to register people in Honolulu, Iceland, Greece and Tokyo as well as may Afghanistan and probably Papua New Guinea.
Another view is that the Election could, through a Constitutional Instrument, source for funds to extend electoral facilities to countries where Ghanaians reside. I have also learnt that Electoral Commission could actually commission the Ghana Commission, an individual or an institution to conduct the elections on their behalf.
This would also mean that such people would be given some form of identity. I couldn''t help wondering what would happen to those Ghanaians who are illegal immigrants. I mean could you imagine what would happen if the British Home office laid its hands on the list of each and every Ghanaian in England, I chuckle at the number of people who will have to find their way back home. Maybe, it will be for the good of us all, then we would stay and work hard improving on our country''s lot. For some though, to vote or not to vote is not an issue at all, for them, country broke o, country no broke o…
Author: Kate Addo,
Dep. Public Relations Director
Parliament of Ghana.
e-mail: kamardai@yahoo.com
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