Election of ECOWAS MPs: It’s time to able it before Heads of states - Anlo MP

A representative of Ghana to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Clement Kofi Humado has said it is time for Parliament to table to Authority of Heads of states elections of lawmakers.

According to the Ghanaian Member of Parliament for Anlo, the Community Parliament can do so through the ECOWAS Commission to the Authority of Heads of States for consideration.

As to whether the Authority of Heads of States would agree or not, the issue would have come before them to kick start the debate, the time is now and further pointed out that, the life span of the fourth Parliament ends in February 2020, he said.

“The time has come where the Authority of Heads of States need to consider how we conduct elections, universal adult suffrage to elect lawmakers of the various countries. We can then have full time for the work of ECOWAS Parliament so that the issue of absenteeism and sharing of time moving between Abuja and the various capitals would be reduced and that we can be held accountable for the time and resources spent on the community Parliament”, he said in an interview.

The ECOWAS lawmaker’s remark comes in the wake of the Speaker Mustapha Cisse Lo’s lamentation over truancy observed in the fourth Legislature of the community Parliament, and a drama that unfolded during the last plenary session.

Where the Speaker stamp his authority that allowance should not be paid to Community lawmakers who do not attend sitting.

Mr. Clement Kofi Humado further noted that at the onset of the Community Parliament it was envisaged that eventually MPs would have to be elected from the various member countries, but the first step was to appoint as things settled down then the issue of elections would be tabled.

“The situation has become critical when in 2016 ECOWAS Parliament was given an enhanced powers, which means that we now look at the Community budget, have oversight over various Commission directors. We have to move around the Sub-region as representatives of the people to create awareness speak to our citizens, that has put more pressure on the time of lawmakers”, he said.

Again, as things stands now under the Ghanaian democratic system MPs belong to political parties, “talking about myself, if given the task to work as a Deputy raking member of a committee I am supposed to be in meetings regularly and work on referrals from the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament”.

And sometimes committees do travel for work outside Accra, talk of the party I belong to there are activities on going now, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is undergoing its primaries, he pointed out.

“You cannot run away from it you have to participate in it, now we find ourselves sharing our time between our National Parliament, our Political parties, our own constituencies then on the other hand the Community Parliament”, he lamented.