US embassy cable - 05ACCRA1615

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 
 
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Arguments in Favor 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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Comment 
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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