The Electoral Commission (EC) is to embark on a four-nation tour to familiarise itself with how these countries conduct their Diasporan polls to enable it formulate regulations for the implementation of the Representation of the People's Amendment Law (ROPAL). The lessons from the trip would form the basis for discussions among all stakeholders to arrive at a common regulation for the implementation of the ROPAL. Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the acting Director of Public Affairs of the EC, Mr Yorke Aidoo, said it was only after full consultation with all stakeholders, including the political parties, that the critical issues of budget and date would be determined. As to when the EC would embark on the trip, which would take the delegation to a country each in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, he said the Commission was in consultation with the government to use Gh¢200,000 (¢2 billion ) which was provided for local consultation for the foreign consultation. He said the amount formed part of what would be provided by the government for the consultation process at home but the EC was of the view that it had to learn lessons from other countries to form the basis for the discussions, hence the intention to use the money for the trip abroad. According to Mr Yorke there were more than 100 countries with laws on diasporan voting or which allowed their citizens living outside the country to vote and that it was necessary that the EC tapped their successes, challenges and problems and drew lessons from them. Recently the EC stated that it was still consulting with stakeholders on the implementation of the ROPAL and that it was only after full consultation with all stakeholders, including the political parties, religious bodies, the media, chiefs and civil society organisations that the critical issues of budget and date would be determined. It said the broad consultation with stakeholders would enable it to come out with a regulation that would be designed to reflect the will of all concerned and also represent the collective ownership of all. According to the Commission, it was after the consultation that it would come out with regulations stipulating its operations and a budget for the implementation of the law. To achieve this, it said sustained consultation was crucial and added that the recent IPAC meeting was only to introduce the proposals which would constitute the basis for the dialogue and consultation. The Commission said apart from consensus building, the EC would never be coaxed or pressurised by any authority or body to implement the law during the exercise of its duties. Article 46 of the Constitution states that "Except as provided in this Constitution or in any other law not inconsistent with this Constitution, in the performance of its functions, the Electoral Commission, shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority". The National Democratic Congress (NDC) opposed the amendment of the law to allow eligible Ghanaian voters living outside the country to vote and demonstrated this with boycotts of Parliamentary sittings and demonstrations. The EC has stated that it would always be guided by the principle of putting national interest first in all its endeavours. He explained that since the ROPAL was a complex issue borne out of litigation and that its implementation, if not done well, would also be characterised with problems. Mr Yorke Aidoo commended the religious body, which was made up of both Christian and Muslims leaders, for their consultation with the EC on the ROPAL to have a fair idea of what the EC was doing about it. Source: Daily Graphic