NDC government has broken its promise to Ghanaians - Afenyo-Markin

Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of breaking its promise to Ghanaians to exercise restraint and not abuse its parliamentary majority.

Afenyo-Markin made the allegation at a press conference on August 27, 2026, where he led the Majority Caucus in protesting the expedited vetting of ministerial nominees Mahama Ayariga and Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, as well as three nominees to the Supreme Court.

According to him, the decision to push through the vetting of the three Supreme Court nominees within a short period is the latest example of the government failing to honour its commitment to use its parliamentary numbers responsibly.

“When this government got into office in a commanding majority in this House, its own leader stood before Ghana and promised restraint. They promised the country they would not abuse the numbers the people have given them,” Afenyo-Markin said.

“But that promise did not survive long. It has been tested and broken again and again since this government took its seat.”

He argued that the government's approach to the Supreme Court nominations demonstrates a growing culture in which the parliamentary majority is being used to fast-track processes for political convenience.

“What the Majority is presently doing with these three Supreme Court nominations is not a new departure. It is simply the latest chapter in the broken promises and it is a terrible culture that must end,” he said.

Afenyo-Markin questioned the urgency surrounding the Supreme Court nominations, arguing that there are currently no vacancies on the apex court.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, there is no vacancy and there is no emergency,” he said.

He explained that the three nominees were not being nominated to replace justices who had left the bench, but to add three additional justices to the existing complement.

“The Supreme Court currently sits with its full complement of justices, hearing cases and handing down judgments as it should,” he said.

“What the President is proposing is not to urgently replace anyone who has left; it is to add three further justices to the members already sitting there.”

He therefore questioned why Parliament should be expected to complete the process within three days when there was no vacant position requiring immediate replacement.

“If there is no vacancy to fill, there is certainly no emergency compelling anyone to fill it inside three days,” Afenyo-Markin said.

He compared the situation to the replacement of two ministers who died in a helicopter crash last year, describing those positions as genuine vacancies that affected the functioning of government.

According to him, the government waited approximately a year before nominating replacements for those positions.

“If filling those two genuine ministerial vacancies that truly had been an emergency, he would not have waited for that long,” he said.

“So we ask again: if a full year was acceptable for real vacancies in government, why is three days now being treated as an emergency for seats on the Supreme Court that are not even vacant?”

Afenyo-Markin also rejected suggestions that the ongoing judicial vacation justified rushing the nominations.

He said the Supreme Court remains operational and continues to determine matters that require urgent attention.

“There is no fire here. Yes, this is the judicial vacation, but administration of justice has not entirely come to a halt,” he said.

“Nothing about our justice system is on life support because three additional justices have not yet joined the bench. Nobody should be made to believe otherwise.”

He maintained that the Majority Caucus was prepared to facilitate the vetting of the two ministerial nominees fairly and promptly but would not support what he described as an unnecessary rush involving the Supreme Court nominees.

“We are ready to vet the two ministerial nominees fairly and promptly. What we will not accept is that three Supreme Court nominees [are] being rushed through as though the court cannot function another week without them,” he said.

‘We have the whole of September’

The Majority Leader further argued that Parliament has sufficient time to complete the vetting process without compromising the work of the judiciary.

He noted that Parliament is currently in August and has the entire month of September available, adding that parliamentary committees can work even when the full House is not sitting.

“Let me break something down. We are in the month of August. We have the whole of September. Committees can even work when the House is not sitting,” he said.

According to him, the nominees could be vetted in September, reports prepared and presented when Parliament resumes in October, allowing the House to take a decision before the beginning of the legal year.

“So why the rush?” he asked.

Afenyo-Markin accused the NDC government of betraying the mandate given to it by Ghanaians by repeatedly using its parliamentary majority to bend established processes to suit its convenience.

“It betrays the mandate of the Ghanaian people. A Majority that keeps finding new ways to bend the rules to its convenience should not be surprised when the country stops believing its next promise of restraint,” he said.

He subsequently turned his attention to what he described as the “real emergencies” facing the country, suggesting that issues requiring urgent government attention were being left unresolved while Parliament was being pushed to prioritise the Supreme Court nominations.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen of the press, let me deal with the real emergencies which are sitting untouched,” he said.