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Opinions of Saturday, 9 January 2021

Columnist: Ebenezer Kofi .K. Brown.

The happenings at the Parliament house is a big dent on our legislative instrument

Parliament of Ghana Parliament of Ghana

Some incidents, which were quite unnecessary go a long way to portray a bad image of the house; members of Parliament snatching ballot boxes, snatching of seats as well as the use of abusive language and many more is a clear indication of the lawlessness that has found its way into such a reputable institution.

The fact that mature men found it difficult to reach a consensus and resorted to violence doesn't speak well of them. It seems that our Parliamentarians have forgotten or are unaware that the happenings over the past few hours will be used as reference whenever any of them complain of lack of respect in the near future.

The act of MPs snatching ballot boxes away is an indication that they are the brains behind citizens engaging in such acts. The invasion of military men is very unprecedented.

I am of the strong belief that Carlos Kinsley Ahenkorah and John Adulai Jinapor, as well as the whole house owe their constituents as well as Ghanaians an apology for putting up such bad behaviour. Are these the people responsible for making laws for us? If so, how can they set good examples for the public to follow when they cannot abide by the laws made by them?

I am not able to comprehend why the NPP side of Parliament wanted to kick against secret balloting. We are all aware of the practice of casting votes in secrecy in this country. All that drama was uncalled for.

Coming to other issues, it is surprising how Algban Bagbin was elected and he should be commended highly for how he managed to realign with his side of the house after he contested former President Mahama in the NDC's presidential primaries because it would have gone a long way to affect him. On the other hand, I am glad that some MPs have gone beyond party borders.

It sends strong signals to us that our democracy is gaining much strength and has grown beyond party lines. It brings us back to the conversation concerning the Fomena Member of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako. I hope this goes a long way to teach both political sides how to treat their Members of Parliament.

I really feel that the removal of the MP from Parliament was very unfair. I don't know why Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye and the NPP were expecting a vote from the same man they removed from office. During the NPP primaries, we saw the discrepancies that arose; protecting some non-performing MPs and touting them as unopposed as well as cruelly removing some performing MPs like Ama Sey. That was a wrong move.

Sometimes incumbency blinds people from precedent events. I personally expected the NPP to learn much from the NDC with how they lost most of their key seats. Democracy in Ghana has grown so much that the imposition of leaders won't work.

I do hope, however that both parties will work together to ensure a smooth running of the 8th Parliament of the Republic although we can be sure of one thing, that this particular parliament will have the most dramatic sittings.