Dr. Rasheed Draman, Executive Director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), has lamented the growing number of experienced members who are not seeking reelection to the Legislature.
He claims that the departure of some of
these lawmakers would leave a significant void in the House, which will be
detrimental to Ghana's democracy.
According to Dr. Draman, such people are
safeguarded in the United States and other sophisticated democracies to defend
the House's weight, particularly in its primary role, legislation.
His remarks follow the resignation of
several New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament who are not seeking
reelection to the 9th Parliament and did not file nominations after the party
ended the process on Tuesday, December 26, 2023.
Concerning Ghana Tonight, Tuesday, December
26, 2023, in an interview with Alfred Ocansey, the ACEPA chief said,
"there will be a very large gap because, for example, if you research the
law-making process in Parliament, there are very few MPs who have been going
through the intricacies and the very nitty-gritties" to get the laws
passed.
Despite the fact that the Ashanti region is
the ruling NPP's major support base, several incumbent MPs are not seeking
re-election despite the fact that their prospects of keeping the seat are good,
aside from their acquired experiences to assist the House in its tasks.
The ruling NPP holds 43 of the 47 seats in
parliament.
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament,
Joseph Osei-Wusu, who also serves as MP for Bekwai, the Majority Leader and MP
for Suame, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, and legislators from Oforikrom, Ahafo Ano
South East, and Kwabre East did not file nominations to participate in the
primaries.
Dr. Draman has urged that Parliament create
a way to safeguard some of these bigwigs if political parties are unable to do
the same for their members.
