Former Majority Leader and current Suame MP Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has urged parliamentary leadership to have frank discussions with Speaker Alban Bagbin about the recent tensions that have interrupted parliamentary business.
With the general elections on December 7 quickly approaching, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu underlined the significance of communication and collaboration among Parliament’s leadership in order to reestablish unity and functionality inside the House.
He cautioned that unaddressed problems would affect the next elections and jeopardize Ghana’s democratic procedures.
Speaker Bagbin’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant on October 17 sparked the recent tensions and resulted in an indefinite postponement of Parliament.
The impasse, according to Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, might delay important legislative activity, such as crucial election cycle preparations.
The Electoral Commission’s expected Constitutional Instrument (CI), which lays out the legal foundation for the elections scheduled for December 7, is one important topic at risk.
This CI has not yet been presented, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu pointed out, warning that any more delays could throw off the election schedule. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu emphasized the need to end the standoff in remarks to the media on Monday, October 28: “Maybe we need to engage because elections should be held.”
And if elections must be held, every time that the presidential and general elections are going to be held, the Electoral Commission, for instance, will bring a CI to regulate the elections.”
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made the plea for dialogue during an interview with Joy News TV in Accra.
