News:
September 12, 2025
Third Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has noted that the Republic of Ghana in terms of governance and democracy is far ahead in the West African sub-region as someone who has travelled extensively within the region.
According to him Ghana can do more despite the success Ghana has chalked in terms of its journey in governance and democracy.
He made these remarks when the United Kingdom’s Minister for International Development, Baroness Chapman paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to strengthen bilateral ties and reaffirm her Country’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s democratic and governance reforms.
The Minority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament was however worried that in the past thirty years in Ghana’s political history under the fourth Republic, when the two major parties, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have the chance to govern, there are excesses where hardliners within the two parties take center stage and set the pace.
This, he said should be a thing of the past, “I admit that some of the excesses happened during our time in office in the past eight years, but we cannot continue with the visual cycle of ‘you do me I do you’; there are key governance issue that I believe as a democracy we can focus on to improve the life of the people”, he emphasised.
Again, he pointed out that he is a moderate politician and they, as a Minority in the current ninth Parliament under the four Republican constitution of Ghana having served in government before and as immediate past leader of government business, they would be a constructive Minority.
On the issue of justice and human rights, he noted that a regional chairman of his party on an act of misdemeanor was handcuffed, pushed into a black Maria; and this are things he believe is a blot on Ghana’s democracy.
“We do not need the excesses of institutions, where government has to take responsibility. You do not handcuff the person when he had voluntarily come to you for investigation then you say I have put a bail bond of say fifty thousand on you, look for property before I let go of you; these are challenges”.
In addition the Minority Leader indicated that his side is not happy with the removal of the former Chief Justice by the current administration, saying, “we see it as more of politics than ensuring that there is some accountability because whiles we have been in government for eight years, we expect that the new government coming with its reset policy may want to investigate; it is part of the politics and democratic accountability – we also expect that the law would be applied in a humane way”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com