Parliament will be better off with the majority in opposition - Prof. Gyampo

A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Political Science department, Prof Ransford Gyampo has said that Ghana’s Parliament will be better off when the ruling government does not have the majority in the house.

According to the Political Science lecturer, Parliament over the years has not been able to work effectively because the majority in the house always want to do the bidding of the Executive arm of government to remain in its good books.

To him, having the opposition occupy the majority seats in Parliament will be a good test for the country’s multi-party democracy.

"By the close of the day, we will see the big wigs who will fall. I’m looking forward to a parliament, you might have a government that will not have the majority in parliament and that is when we will test our true art of politicking. How we can build consensus and how we can ensure the survival of multi-party democracy."

"You will know how to dialogue when you get the Presidency without the majority in parliament. It will also show how you will be able to reach out to the other side and win their support in policymaking."

"That is where parliament will move away from its disingenuous role of serving as a mere rubber stamp for the executive government. Always approving whatever policy thrown to them by the Executive because they want to get appointments."

"One party taking the presidency and the other taking parliament will help us see parliament performing its role as s counter authority to the executive arm of government. This is because parliament is no longer a powerhouse that checks the executive," he said in an interview on UTV.