In a scathing critique, Ras Mubarak, a former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, has condemned the party’s recent motion to remove four MPs contesting as independent candidates in the December 2024 parliamentary election.
Ras Mubarak, who served as MP for Kumbungu Constituency from 2017 to 2021, labeled the motion a “bizarre and shocking frolic” that ignores Ghana’s pressing issues.
In a press statement, Ras Mubarak argued that the NDC should focus on reining in the Electoral Commissioner, addressing the country’s economic crisis, and tackling critical problems such as road accidents, which claimed nearly 1,500 lives in the first quarter of 2024.
He also emphasized the need to address the destruction of water bodies, forest reserves, and plastic pollution.
The former MP expressed disappointment that the Minority’s first act was not a motion to impeach President Akufo-Addo for his handling of the illegal mining crisis or a bill to prosecute parents whose minor children commit crimes. Mubarak noted that the Electoral Commissioner’s posturing and impunity are worrying, and Parliament should prioritize putting her in check.
Ras Mubarak’s criticism comes from a place of experience.
He had previously raised concerns about the Coroner’s Act, which requires autopsies for deceased Muslims, an issue close to his heart as a Muslim himself.
He expects private members to introduce bills addressing this concern.
The former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, defended the motion as a means to uphold the constitution.
However, Mubarak countered that the NDC had previously failed to act on constitutional violations, citing the absence of MPs Sarah Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong, Henry Quartey, and Kojo Kum from Parliament without leave.
With only 52 days to the December 7 election, Mubarak urged the NDC to focus on critical issues rather than “injury time gymnastics” that waste everyone’s time.
He emphasized that removing the four rogue MPs would not significantly impact the election’s outcome.
Below is the full statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Haruna Iddrisu’s Motion A Waste of Everyone’s Time.
A decision on a motion in Parliament by the former Minority Leader to remove some four MPs who are contesting as independent candidates in the December 2024 Parliamentary election was deferred by the Speaker of Parliament.
While we await the decision of the Speaker, I must say the motion was a bizarre and shocking frolic that completely ignores the most pressing issues in the country.
Members of Parliament who spoke in support of the motion completely ignored one of the issues high up on the minds of Ghanaians yearning for a credible election in December – how to reign in the intransigent Electoral Commissioner and getting her to produce nothing but a free and fair election on 7th December.
That should be the priority of every elected Member, especially those in opposition. What is the electoral fortune of the motion?
With almost seven weeks to the December election, how does removing four rogue MPs revolve the issue of the Electoral Commissioner’s adamant posturing?
It doesn’t in any significant way clip the wings of President Akufo Addo, who should have been impeached by now.
We have had almost 1,500 Ghanaians die in road accidents In the first quarter of 2024 alone according to public records. The country had recorded nearly 10,000 injuries from road accidents within the first six months of this year.
It is a major disaster that requires serious and urgent action by all stakeholders, including Parliament, which ought to enact the necessary legislation to stem the tide, and appropriate the necessary funds to deal with the crisis.
There’s also the wanton destruction of our water bodies, forest reserves and a plastic pollution crisis, plus President Akufo Addo’s government running the economy aground.
And the first act by the Minority is not a motion to impeach the President for his colossal failure to tackle the illegal mining crisis, nor a bill to prosecute parents like Bishop Salifu Amoako, whose minor children commit high crimes.
Practicality and common sense dictates that the NDC and its MPs must be focused on reining in the Electoral Commissioner, whose posturing and impunity is very worrying.
At the time of writing this article, we are 52 days away from the December 7 election. There would be no by-election even if the four rogue MPs are removed.
Upon the resumption of Parliament, I expected an urgent question to the Minister for Defence on whether our peacekeeping troops in Lebanon were harmed in anyway by the criminal Israeli regime which attacked the position of UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon.
I expect private members bill for an amendment to the Coroner’s Act, which requires for every deceased person, including deceased Muslims, to undergo autopsy. This is an issue i unsuccessfully raised when I was MP in the 7th Parliament, and one which is of grave concern to Muslims up and down the country, including majority of the former Minority Leader’s constituents who are Muslims.
All of these issues are ignored for a more hopeless frolic that has zero impact on our fortunes in the upcoming elections nor the issues high up on the minds of suffering Ghanaians.
The former Minority Leader said he was defending the constitution, which in truth is what every Ghanaian, especially those in elected office should do.
But at a time defending the constitution would have been effective and productive, he and just about everyone who spoke In support of the motion abandoned their constitutional obligations, and betrayed the sacred and hallowed oath of office.
Under the watch of the former Minority Leader, the NDC had a chance to cause of the removal of some MPs who’d violated the constitution, and cause a by-election. This was in 2022 when the following MPs – Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, Hon. Henry Quartey and Hon. Kojo Kum, absented themselves from Parliament without leave of the Speaker.
Never once during this egregious violation of the constitution did we hear the mover of today’s motion talk about defending the constitution. It took my petition to Parliament, which the Minority even attempted to shoot down, for the matter to be heard and brought before the Privileges Committee.
At a time when it mattered most, the former Minority Leader abandoned his duty to defend and uphold the constitution. And alas, the issue has been conveniently swept under the rug.
We in the NDC are hungry for political power. We are going into a very difficult election, where the referee (EC) is clearly biased against us. The sooner we kept our eyes on the most important things, the better for us.
We can’t afford to take our eyes off the ball. Parliament is clothed with all the powers to put the Electoral Commissioner in check. And I hope we make that a priority than this injury time gymnastics that are a waste of everyone’s time.
The life of this parliament is less than three months from coming to an end. There’s little or no political capital from removing the MPs going Independent.
Ras Mubarak, former NDC MP
Accra
15th October 2024.
BY Daniel Bampoe