Ghanaians must ensure two parties are almost equal in Parliament

Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has endorsed the nation’s hung parliament and said it should be sustained for a more effective governance.

In an engagement with journalists in the Volta and Oti Regions in Ho, the Speaker showed strong admiration for the present disposition of the Nation’s legislature despite the challenges.

Ghana emerged from the election in 2020 with a hung Parliament with both NDC and NPP winning 137 seats each and one seat going to an independent candidate.

The Speaker spoke of how the present state of the House served the Nation well, and assured of his personal commitment to managing the lines to the best of interests.

“The hung Parliament is not easy to handle, but the hung Parliament is the best Parliament. The hung Parliament is one that we see can bite.

“The earlier Parliaments were parliaments of multitudes and the roar of a crowd… and I will encourage Ghanaians to continue to vote their way towards ensuring that the two parties are almost equal numbers.

"That is when the national interest will take centre stage and not partisan interest. And I can assure you that the leadership of the NDC is with me and that of the NPP, they are with me in this. We don’t need to have any roaring multitude in Parliament again. It doesn’t serve the situation at all.”

“As a Speaker, I should handle the divide in a way that I can carry the minority to pursue the business of Government.”

Bagbin commended the Minority NDC for sustaining the essence of tied house.

The media engagement formed part of a nationwide activity to celebrate 30 years of an unbroken democratic parliament, and more than 50 journalists, and other media stakeholders were present to seek clarifications on the activities of the law making body.

The speaker explained the rubrics of parliamentary work and its functions, and elaborated sweeping reforms that sought to make the House the most effective arm of the Government.

He said the transformations made ample space for the media to support the work of Parliament, and had opened up all its committees to the media.

The Speaker called on the media to specialise, and asked media owners to allow their reporters to grow through Parliament.

Emmanuel Agbaxode, the Volta and Oti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, in a welcome address, urged Parliament to push for laws and policies that protect media and press freedom.

“For Parliament and our democracy to thrive, we need to work as partners. We urge Parliament to push for laws and policies that protect the media and press freedom.”

Agbaxode stated that much had been done in that area but a lot more could be done.

“That way, you get a trusted partner to champion your cause as individual representatives of the people and Parliament as an institution,” he added.

Bagbin and his team would meet members of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, Friday, before hosting a public forum at the Ho Technical University.

A mock Parliamentary session would be held in Ho on Saturday.