Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the “2 by 1” initiative?
The “2 by 1” is a fundraising initiative proposed by the National Executives of NPP-USA and unanimously approved at a Joint meeting with the Chapter Executives in October 2006. The goal is to raise $200,000 through 2,000 people contributing $100 each. The original due date is September 30, 2007. Our expectation is that we should exceed the amount to make an impactful contribution to the 2008 general elections in Ghana.
- What concern gave rise to raising this size money at the NPP-USA national level?
We aim to put NPP-USA in a position where we are collectively recognized and given a bigger voice in the political/economic affairs of NPP in Ghana and also in the governing of our country. A significant amount of money pooled together and representing our collective effort will position us to be in a stronger negotiating position than having virtually nothing to offer. In the past NPP-North America Chapters raised monies to support candidates on a chapter-by-chapter basis. No one could tell precisely how much financial contribution had come from NPP North America in total. Our position was thus weakened and there was general sense of marginalization. Pooling our resources and efforts together should help us all because everyone will know how much we would contribute and all members can take credit. The Presidential candidate and the NPP in Ghana will certainly know how much members of NPP in the US will contribute. This is an example of the classic united we win, divided we are play on the fringes.
- Why can’t the financial goal be simply shared equally among the NPP-USA Chapters to come up with the money?
That is certainly one way to raise the money. However, our experience since 1992 is that we have had a poor record in receiving apportioned amounts from Chapters. Not all Chapters are of the same membership sizes and strength. Often less than four bother to contribute even $300. The “2 by 1” reaches out to Ghanaians and friends of Ghana in the USA without necessarily tying the Chapters hands on HOW. Numerical goals have been suggested to Chapters and they are free to try whatever will work; such as barbecues, dances etc to reach the suggested numerical goals that are guided by the size of Ghanaians living in the city/area.
- How will the proceeds of the “2 by 1” initiative be used?
After taking care of local expenses, the net proceeds shall be used:
1. To support activities of NPP-USA in advocating for the full participation of Ghanaians living abroad in Ghana’s political and economic development.
2. To support the campaign and victory of NPP’s 2008 Presidential Candidate.
3. To support the administration of the NPP-National Headquarters in Ghana.
4. To support the campaigns of members of NPP-USA who contest Parliamentary seats in the 2008 elections.
The items are stated in broad terms to allow flexibility.
- How much of the $100/per person will go to the Chapters?
In the future, we shall operate with a formula where a percentage of the contribution from a specific city to national office of NPP-USA will go to the Chapter. The percentage will be determined by the executives of NPP-USA national and the chapters. Given that we are facing an election year in 2008 and there are no reserves, the entire $100 will stay with NPP-USA national. Remember however that ALL contributions to Ghana will be made in the name of ALL NPP-USA members EVERYWHERE.
- Will there be a request for additional contribution in 2008 and subsequent years?
Yes. This is an election season and we are a political organization supporting a political party in Ghana. A continual request for additional contributions is a fact of political support everywhere. Think of supporting NPP to the tune of $100 year. Chapters may assess additional dues also. Alternatively, Chapters may decide to include the annual national dues in theirs and forward the portion to NPP-USA national.
- Is there another benefit that will come from the success of the “2 by1”?
Several benefits will come from the success of the “2 by 1”. To be more specific, item 5 of Article 8 of the NPP Constitution states:
“Where the dues paying Members of an overseas branch are a minimum number of one hundred (100) that branch shall be entitled to send one (1) representative to the National Delegates Conference with voting rights.”
If you break the 2,000 dues-paying members down by Chapter, we aim to put ourselves in a position where we can negotiate for more than the nominal one delegate that is currently given to the entire NPP-North America (USA and Canada). The “2 by 1” will have the consequence of building up dues-paying members in the Chapters and then Chapters will be able to send delegates to NPP Ghana Delegates Conferences. This is the ultimate goal.
The success of the “2 by 1” can also encourage us to raise money to invest in Ghana in for profit when we begin to believe in the power of pooled resources and set up accountable systems and organizations.
- What membership card does one get when they pay their $100 contribution?
NPP-USA Inc. is a not-for- profit political organization incorporated in New York State and approved by the US Internal Revenue Service. It is also a membership organization. As an acknowledgement of payment a credit-card-sized membership card of NPP-USA, Inc. with the picture of the member is immediately sent to the contributor. We shall subsequently request NPP Ghana cards for the paid members in addition.
- Why is there a need for an NPP-USA, Inc. membership card?
We have found that the wallet-sized picture ID that is the NPP-USA, Inc. membership card actually helps to promote and encourage others to contribute. People get something they can use immediately. The NPP-USA, Inc ID cards are portable and when they are shown to others, it piques their interest and gives them one reason to contribute also. It is an excellent marketing tool for our fundraising and membership building goals but it is NOT intended to replace the Ghana NPP dues-paying membership card.
- Are we going to get Ghana NPP membership cards and when?
Yes. Effort is being made to get those who have paid their contributions to NPP-USA, membership cards from NPP Ghana. Unfortunately there have been delays in getting these and as a result, several complaints have arisen among members. This is one reason why we issue the NPP-USA, Inc cards to give an immediate response and “sense of belonging” to members while we work on getting a system that will enable us to get the Ghana NPP cards more quickly to paid members. Eventually all those who have paid will get the NPP Ghana membership cards IN ADDITION.
- How will the NPP-USA, Inc. cards and the Ghana NPP cards (when we get them) be updated with future contributions?
Much like a driver’s license, new picture ID cards will be issued with each year’s payment with a notation made on the card of how many years contributions have been made beginning with 2007. Payments will have to be written into the Ghana NPP membership booklets. We shall have to come up with a way that will not necessitate mailing them back to have them updated. Most likely, the Chapter administration will do the updating.
Representation of the People Amendment Act (Act 699) was signed into law on February 24, 2006 by H.E. President J.A. Kufuor after passage by Ghana’s Parliament on February 23, 2006.
- Why is there a need for ROPAA?
Prior to February 24 2006, the law that allowed anyone to vote outside Ghana was the Representation of the People Law, passed by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1992 ahead of the swearing in of a democratic parliament on January 1993. Section 8 of PNDCL 284 limited overseas voting only to a very small group of Ghanaians Living Abroad- specifically: those working for Ghana’s diplomatic missions, those serving in the armed services abroad, those on Ghana government scholarships and those working for international organizations on Ghana’s behalf.
In the meantime Article 42 of the prevailing 1992 Constitution 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 purposes of public elections and referenda.”
Note that there is no reference to place of domicile for “every citizen of Ghana”
Four elections have been held, at the time of writing this, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. The blatant disregard for this constitutional breach could not go on forever and the NPP administration under H.E. J. A. Kufuor had the courage to amend PNDCL 284 that had area of domicile as a restriction on the exercise of article 42 of the constitution. This is why the 2006 law is called Representation of the People Amendment Act, as recanted here:
Act 699
THE SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINTH
ACT
OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
ENTITLED
REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (AMENDMENT) ACT 2006
AN ACT to amend the Representation of the People Law, 1992 (PNDCL 284) to enable Ghanaians abroad to register to vote in public elections and referenda.
DATE OF ASSENT: 24 February, 2006
ENACTED by the President and Parliament:
PNDCL 284 amended
1. The Representation of the People Law, 1992 (PNDCL 284) as amended is further amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph (c) of section 7(1) by the addition of the words “or hails from the constituency” after “division”
(b) by the substitution for section 8 of the following:
“Registration of Ghanaian citizens abroad
8. (1) A person who is a citizen of Ghana resident outside the Republic is entitled to be registered as a voter if the person satisfies the requirements for registration prescribed by law other than those relating to residence in a polling division.
(2) The Commission may appoint the head of a Ghana Mission or Embassy abroad or any other person or institution designated in writing by the Commission as a registration officer to register as a person to be a voter for an election.
(3) The Commission may give such directions as it considers appropriate to a person appointed as a registration officer”,
(c) by the insertion of the following after “by-election” in section 50, “citizen” means a citizen of Ghana under the Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591)”.
Modalities for the implementation of the Act
2. The Electoral Commissioner shall, by Constitutional Instrument, make Regulations to prescribe the modalities for the implementation of this Act.
Date of gazette notification: 24 February, 2006
- Who is responsible for implementing ROPAA?
Act 699 left the implementation of ROPAA to Ghana’s Electoral Commission. The Act does not spell out a year of implementation nor deadline.
- Why did the NDC oppose ROPAA and why do we now also hear of NPP people calling for a delay in the implementation of ROPAA?
One of the activities that caused ROPAA to become law was a series of delegations comprising Ghanaians Living Abroad (GLAs) who went to Ghana in October 2005 and February 2006 to engage the Ghana media and politicians on the need to enforce the constitution with respect to the rights of GLAs to register to vote in Ghana’s elections without the burden of having to come and live in Ghana for 6 continuous months before qualifying to register as PNDCL284 required. The group was called the Diaspora Vote Committee. It was non-partisan and the delegations were led by Mr. Kofi A. Boateng. ROPAA was passed on the presumption of restoration of rights. The other members of the historic October delegation were: Mr. Jermaine Nkrumah (Houston- credited with idea of DVC), Dr. Agyenim Boateng (Kentucky), Dr. Kwame Frimpong( Botswana), Phebe Anan ( New York), Nana Amo Adjepong ( New York), Kwabena Manu ( New York), Alhaji Adamu Abass ( New York), Rebecca Bannor( Denmark), Benjamin Kwasi Afrifa (New York), Nana Gyebi ( London), Michael Baffoe ( Canada) and MacDonald Agbenyo ( Canada). The February delegation featured members from the Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Lately, some in Ghana have said in very simple terms that politics is more about power and the retention of it than the exercise of rights. Therefore any perception of events, real or imagined that is seen as threatening the retention of power or its substitution engenders a furious opposition. By extension, this means that the expression of rights takes a secondary and even a distant position to the preservation or the grappling for raw power. You may say that ROPAA will continue to suffer from “powerlossphobia” from practically all political parties in Ghana. Every party will make its own diagnosis of how they get their ROPAA “powerlossphobia”. It is therefore up to GLAs to persist in their fight to have their voices heard in the choice of the country’s leaders AND make them aware that phobias may not be real and can be certainly cured by effective mobilization and recruitment among GLAs to vote for their cause. In short the opposition to the implementation of ROPAA is a reflection of a continuous conflict between power and rights and parties may take shifting positions depending on how they assess the effect of rights on the retention or reclaiming of power. Democracy however stands staunchly on the side of rights and forces political parties to win power by preserving and implementing rights.
- When there are pressing needs in Ghana, such as energy, education, health, water etc. why should the government waste resources in implementing ROPAA?
The right to vote is not measured in monetary units. Voting is a fundamental right which is inseparable from citizenship. The right to vote transcends all other rights in the constitution. Voting enables a citizen’s voice to be heard in the choice of a country’s leadership who in turn make the decisions on the expenditure of resources. Assume that no one votes and the country is under an unelected dictatorship and those leaders decide that the only priority is to expend national resources on what they decide without input from anyone else, then what? This has happened in Ghana’s political history. Therefore the fundamental need is to ensure that democratic principles are laid down where the people, all of them who are eligible, decide who their leaders would be and hold them accountable on meeting their social and economic needs.
- Ghana has no money why can’t ROPAA wait?
Wait until when? Ghana, like any other country will never get all the money it needs but this will not stop it from having democratic elections every four years. The real question is how much more will overseas voting cost? We will not know this until the EC comes with a budget. Then the country will have to figure out where the additional funds will come from. We must remember that every four years, the number of registered voters increases in Ghana. No one has ever raised an objection to denying the vote to the new voters because there is no money for them. People in Ghana do not pay to vote and therefore GLAs cannot be asked to pay fees to vote to defray the cost. However, existing privileges can be expedited, such as the dual citizenship registration which will yield new revenue to the government.
- Why can’t ROPAA wait to be implemented after the 2008 elections?
It is the decision of the Electoral Commission with parliament’s approval to implement ROPAA in 2008, 2012, 2016 or whenever. The real concerns are the following:
1. Under PNDCL 284 Ghanaians serving in missions, military expeditions outside the country, on government scholarships and international organizations have been allowed to vote since 1992 (that is for four general elections). On February 24, 2006, that particular dispensation was annulled. That means that so long as ROPAA is delayed, so long will those serving in Ghana’s missions, etc will also not vote. Which government wants that on their record?
2. If the small protected group is allowed to vote in 2008 but not the general GLA group, how will the election results for 2008 be accepted?
3. ROPAA is the law of the land, and the earlier the government, EC and parliament and political parties faced this fact and worked towards implementation, even on a pilot basis, the earlier constitutional crisis regarding elections will be preempted.
Remember that GLAs have not voted (except for the small group listed above) in four elections since the 1992 constitution. When is waiting enough?
- Why can’t ROPAA wait until there is a Ghana National Identification system implemented first?
Once again, there have been four general elections under the current Constitution that grants the right to register to vote to all qualified Ghanaians everywhere. So far Ghana has not had a National Identification system and that has not stopped us from voting and declaring new leaders chosen by majorities of Ghanaians. A working and proven National Identification system is welcome and is an improvement as the country improves on many other fronts. To make it a requirement for extending the franchise is a different matter when at the same time it is implied that while the nation waits on a National ID, people living in Ghana as opposed to GLAs will continue to vote as before anyway. The point is that either all Ghanaians everywhere vote without national ID cards or they all vote with it and not one group behind another.
- How can we tell who is a Ghanaian among the GLAs to avoid voter fraud?
The same way that you tell who is a Ghanaian among registered voters in Ghana where people are presumed to be Ghanaian until a protest is lodged and proven otherwise. To register to vote in Ghana, one does not produce any documentation. To register to vote outside Ghana will require documentation to prove Ghana citizenship, most likely, a birth certificate, Ghana passport, dual citizenship registration or a national ID card when we have one. The probability of a non-Ghanaian being registered to vote is higher in Ghana than outside the country.
- We do not how many GLAs there are anywhere so why can’t ROPAA wait until we know the counts so the EC will know how to plan and budget?
Let us make a distinction between knowing the total number of GLAs living in any country and those registered to vote. In Ghana, no one knows how many people are eligible to vote until they register to vote. Since there is not a 100% voter turn out, no one knows how many people actually vote until they finally do. In this step- by- step approach, the number of eligible GLA voters will be known when they register, just as in Ghana and the EC will know what to do to prepare.
- What NPP worries about most about the implementation of ROPAA is massive voting by non-Ghanaians in West Africa, especially, Togo that could change the election results. Is this not worth deferring the implementation of ROPAA?
This is a clear case of “powerlossphobia”. Let us look at the facts:
1. If the worst were to happen and in deed NPP loses in Togo as the party has traditionally lost in the Volta Region, victories from other parts of Africa will more than offset the loss from Togo. Elections are won based on gross numbers and what is needed is mobilization, especially in the areas deemed to be most supportive of NPP.
2. If the argument is true then it means that ROPAA should NEVER be implemented from NPP’s standpoint because Togo is not going away. Is that an acceptable alternative? How would that square with NPP that prides itself of being a party that respects the rule of law and upholding of the constitution?
3.
ROPAA does not create universal voting rights. The only qualified Ghanaians are those with documentary evidence of dual citizenship and permanent resident Ghanaians who could provide valid Ghana passports and other documents the EC may prescribe. All Togolese are not created equal. They have to prove themselves to be documented Ghanaians first.
- Why are leaders of NPP-USA, especially its current Chairman, Mr. Kofi A. Boateng taking inflexible position on the implementation of ROPAA contrary to what the NPP – Ghana may want?
Kofi A. Boateng has led delegations and written extensively on ROPAA. He is not a member of Ghana’s parliament or the Electoral Commission. The latter two make the eventual decisions on implementation. Democracy is not practiced in darkness and as Chairman of NPP-USA it is clear that Kofi A. Boateng and other members of the DVC who are also members of NPP certainly want the party to retain power for ever. This is not at the expense of the exercise of rights nor will the same necessarily translate into defeat for NPP. We are all working hard to trumpet NPP’s achievements, parade the qualities of its prospective leaders and raise monies to ensure victory, including mobilizing GLAs to vote for NPP in the event of 2008 implementation of ROPAA. This website, nppusa.org is very loud evidence. The work that is needed is for each and all to do their part everywhere.
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