Parliament: From rubber stamp to embossment

Many anricipate fireworks in the next House

A former Clerk of Parliament, Mr Rex Owusu-Ansah, believes the era of a virtual rubberstamp parliament is over, and that it is a clear indication of how far Ghanaians have progressed democratically.

He said from the present results of the parliamentary elections held on December 7, 2008, there is no clear working majority, a composition which will pave the way for a more comprehensive and non-partisan debate of issues and policies necessary for the rapid development and growth of the country.

So far certified results from the Electoral Commission from 228 out of 230 constituencies put the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at 113 seats while the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) trails with 108. There are presently four independent Members of Parliament (MPs), one MP for the Convention People's Party (CPP) and two for the People's National Convention (PNC).

The remaining two constituencies, Akwatia and Asutifi South, are yet to be determined.

Mr Owusu-Ansah said the country had reached a stage where it needed to consolidate its democracy and the role of Parliament in achieving that feat could not be over-emphasized.

Mr Owusu-Ansah said policies and new legislations should not only favour a government but the entire nation and the populace at large.

Mr Owusu-Ansah said much as any of the bigger parties might want to woo the smaller ones to form a working majority, the composition would not make it easy for the House to be made into a rubber stamp as had been the case in the past.

The present composition of Parliament, where the ruling party had absolute majority had almost always made it possible for the government to have its way with issues it considered relevant to the growth of the country.

Where issues were debated heatedly and subjected to a vote, the ruling party always had its way because its members in the House constituted the majority.