The Voter and the Hung Parliament in Ghana

Our politicians must by now know that the Ghanaian voter is wide awake and very smart in his political consciousness.

The voter cannot be underestimated when it comes to choosing who should lead or serve him.

There are many factors or reasons why a voter will vote for a particular leader; the President, Member of Parliament, the Assembly Member, among others.

It could be because of the political party he belongs to, the vision of a particular candidate, the campaign message or more including, ethnicity, economic situation, religion, tribalism, familiarity, marriage connection, and gifts. These are some realities on the grounds.

In the last general elections in 2020, the Ghanaian voter changed the structure of Parliament of Ghana.

Our Parliament has 275 Members as prescribed by law.

Don’t forget that Parliament is the citadel of Democracy and the 30.8 million Ghanaians are represented in there (Parliament). And most of the tasks of the Executive cannot be prosecuted without the approval of the House.

As usual, the two main political parties dominate the House – the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

In the current 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic, the Ghanaian voter decided to split the House into 137/137 with an independent member.

The independent member now doubles as the Second Deputy Speaker. He sits and works with the New Patriotic Party side that gave NPP a slim majority in the House hence they are known as the Majority Group.

With this, I will urge the New Patriotic Party to allow cooperation, teamwork, consultation, and engagement to be the order of the day.

The Minority Group – the NDC has nothing to lose politically.

The Majority Group – the NPP has programs to prosecute for the citizens.

Ghana should be the reason why they are in Parliament and in leadership.

Representation should be the key on their table.

They should eschew their partisan, personal and parochial interest Ghana should be the agendum.

Our political leaders should remember that without Ghana, they cannot be called political leaders and will not benefit from the largesse they have been enjoying: security, salaries, allowances, accommodation, privilege, etc.

I call on the leadership of the NPP both in Parliament and the Presidency (Executive) to engage the Minority Group in the affairs of the country.

The government will not lose anything for engaging the Minority for the sake of our motherland.

When there is a rift between them, the ordinary voter or Ghanaian is the one who suffers.

The voter is quietly observing and his time will surely come to take a decisive decisions on the leadership, power and authority.

When a dog has a bone in its mouth, it doesn’t fight the one that has nothing in its mouth. Ponder over this innocuous statement.

By Ahmed Osumanu Halid

Nima 441