CGNU Group Warns That Scrapping Proxy Voting Would Muzzle Ghana’s Diaspora Voice

A UK-based civic group, Concerned Ghanaians for National Unity (CGNU), has strongly criticised moves by some political figures to limit or eliminate proxy voting, a system the group says is vital for Ghanaians living abroad.

Ahead of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential primaries, CGNU argues that attempts to roll back proxy voting amount to an effort to shut out a segment of eligible voters who rely on the arrangement to participate in national affairs.

In a statement representing Ghanaian diaspora voters across political divides, the group stressed that proxy voting is firmly grounded in Ghana’s electoral laws. They pointed to Section 25 of the Public Elections Regulations (C.I. 94), which allows any registered voter who cannot be physically present, whether due to travel, health reasons, or other barriers, to cast a ballot through a trusted representative.

CGNU rejected claims that proxy voting encourages misconduct, calling such allegations inaccurate and inconsistent with both the law and long-standing electoral procedures.

The group also noted what it described as a surprising contradiction.

According to the statement, the NPP, which championed the Representation of the People Amendment Act (ROPAA) to expand voting rights to Ghanaians abroad, now appears open to arguments that would restrict the very mechanism currently enabling diaspora participation.

The group recalled that the purpose of ROPAA was to uphold the principle that all citizens, no matter where they reside, deserve a role in shaping national decisions. Efforts to curtail proxy voting, they argued, conflict with this principle and undermine the participatory values the party has promoted in the past.

CGNU concluded that proxy voting remains a lawful and essential pathway for ensuring diaspora voters are not excluded. Removing it, they said, would silence overseas Ghanaians, weaken internal democratic processes, and compromise the inclusiveness of the country’s electoral system.