The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has described the drama that characterized the proceedings of the inauguration of the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic as unconstitutional and disgraceful.
The Commission in a release singed by its chairperson, Josephine Nkrumah, said the general misconduct of the Members of Parliament-elect was immature and undignified of people purported to be representatives of Ghanaians.
“The NCCE is appalled by such distasteful behaviour exhibited by our legislators. This is reprehensible, an affront to our democracy and contravenes Article 122 of the 1992 Constitution,” the Commission said.
A brawl between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs-elect over sitting position and the election process of the new Speaker tainted the start of the 8th Parliament.
The NDC MPs during the voting, kicked the ballot boxes and destroyed the voting booth in response to the NPP MPs showing their votes to their caucus leaders.
The NPP MP for Tema West, Carlos Ahenkorah then pulled a surprise by snatching some uncounted ballot papers from the Clerk of Parliament and attempted to bolt with it, chewing a couple in the process, in retaliation to the disruptions by the NDC MPs during the election process.
He was, however, chased and physically challenged by the Parliamentary security and some NDC MPs, including the NDC Caucus’ Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak and the ballot papers were retrieved.
The NCCE said the actions by the MPs lends credence to the perception that what miscreant constituents do at polling stations is backed by some political actors and urged Parliament to apply sanctions appropriately to serve as a deterrent to others and the electorate.
“The NCCE urges Parliament to purge itself from this blemish by rendering an unqualified apology to Ghanaians… Again, the increasing military presence in our democratic processes is a cause for concern and we call for a full-scale investigation and explanation to Ghanaians over the intrusion of the military in our Parliament,” the NCCE said.
Meanwhile, the Christian Council has called for sanctions against MPs involved in the brawl saying, “They have thoroughly disgraced themselves and should apologise to the nation, be reprimanded and disciplined by their parties and the disciplinary committee of Parliament for breaching the ethics of a Member of Parliament and disrespecting the legislature.”
The Council indicated that it had invited both the NPP and NDC MPs over the recent development in a bid to encourage the use of “sobriety, moderation, temperance and common sense” in the House.
The Parliamentary Service has expressed regret over the incident but has not indicated if there would be a probe or any sanctions.
“Parliament would, however, like to put them behind it and work towards a more focused, unified membership aimed at promoting the best Parliamentary practices and good governance,” it said in a statement.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri