Parliament: Minority Group’s boycott of proceedings bites hard

The boycott of parliamentary proceedings by Members of Parliament on the Minority side is biting hard.

This comes after the Minority again stayed out of the chamber in solidarity with their colleague Member of Parliament for the Assin North constituency, James Gyakye Quayson, who is standing a criminal trial at the Accra High Court.

This decision aims to protest what the Minority perceives as persistent persecution against Mr Quayson.

“We wish to serve notice that the entire Minority will accompany our colleague today and any other days that he is to appear in court. We are solidarising with our colleague and we will not participate in the business of the House anytime our colleague is in court and we will be withdrawing from the Chamber after this ceremony if the court processes happen today,” Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson declared last week.

Since that declaration, the opposition lawmakers have made good their threats and boycotted proceedings for the second time on Tuesday, July 11, 2023.

Tuesday’s boycott is said to have affected parliamentary proceedings prompting the House to take a 15-minute suspension.

That temporal break lasted longer than the stipulated time as the Majority side of the House scrambled to get the numbers to transact business.

As of 11:30 am that the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, was ushered into the Chamber, the Minority side of the House was completely empty with just 15 NPP MPs ready available.

After the necessary prayers were said, the House was forced to suspend sitting based on a plea by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

Meanwhile, The MP for Okaikoi Central, Patrick Boamah, has made a passionate appeal to the NDC MPs to rescind their boycott of the chamber and participate fully in parliamentary business on the floor of the House.

Source: Newsalertgh