A Private legal practitioner Samson Lardi Anyenini has observed that it is a waste of the country’s time and resources for the Electoral Commission, (EC) to set up a new committee to create a roadmap for the Representation of the People’s Ammendment Law, (ROPAL).
Mr. Anyenini’s comments followed an announcement by the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensah on setting up a Representation of the People’s Amendment Act, (ROPAA) working group to be made up of representatives of registered political parties and Civil Society Organisations.
The working group will among other things define modalities and scope for time lines for the implementation of ROPAL.
But Samson Lardy Anyenini who represented the Ghanaian Diaspora on the matter in court does not understand why a new group is being set.
He said the new roadmap is only going to be a replica of the one roadmap produced by experts in 2011.
He explained that throughout the period that the case was in court, it was established that a high profile committee with very experienced persons and who had expertise in election including the EC’s own officers was in place.
Mr. Anyenini however, said “in 2011 the same electoral commission set up a committee of very formidable experts in the country which produced a report of many pages and provided clear roadmaps.”
He added that the setting up of meetings will simply waste money because that committee will do nothing but duplicate what the other committee did in 2011.
“The court order in 2017 was that make sure that you present a constitutional instrument to parliament to operationalize ROPAL,” he stated.
He tasked the Commission to “take that report for guidance on the C.I and don’t waste public funds on another round of meetings to duplicate what you already spent money on.”
ROPAL, is a law that seeks to provide an opportunity for Ghanaians living abroad to participate in general elections, was passed by Parliament 12 years ago.
A suit that was brought against the Electoral Commission questioned why the election management body had failed to implement the ROPAL.
The Accra High Court in 2017 ruled in favour of the applicants and ordered the EC to execute ROPAL within 12 months.
