Sylvester Matthew Tetteh
Some Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for the Speaker to refer an alleged breach of secret voting in the House for inquiry by the Privileges Committee.
The call was made by NPP MP for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro, Sylvester Matthew Tetteh, and Dr. Kwaku Afriyie from Sefwi-Wiawso after some NDC lawmakers posted videos on various social media platforms capturing how they voted in the approval processes of President’s nominees for ministerial positions.
Andrew Asiamah Amoako, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, had condemned the NDC MPs’ ballot selfies, which were meant to demonstrate to their party that they followed the leadership’s order.
In a brief statement, he stated that those engaged in the act had dragged the dignity and honour of Parliament into disrepute, but he said he did not make the statement to despise any member.
According to him, under Article 104 (4) of the Constitution and Standing Order 110 (b) of Parliament, voters, including MPs, are not permitted to photograph and share their ballots on social media.
He had seen ballot selfies and recordings of the ministers’ approval process on social media platforms, which violated the secrecy of the ballots, and called the act an affront to the elections.
“Indeed, we are supposed to be the cream of our democracy and whatever we are doing must appear to be understood that we know what we are doing,” the Second Deputy Speaker stated.
However, the Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro MP believes that condemnation is insufficient to serve as a deterrent and wants the House’s Privilege Committee to investigate the matter for appropriate redress.
“I think this is an affront to democracy with respect to what happened here,” Mr. Tetteh asserted and added that Parliament needed to purge itself of “this unfortunate development.”
He noted that there are several types of elections in the House, including voice vote, head count, and secret ballot, and argued that some elections are required to be conducted in secret for a reason.
He claimed that when the nation holds a general election, MPs will be stripped of the moral right to educate voters on how to vote.
“This particular matter should be fully investigated and a public apology be issued to the good people of this country. This cannot be said of a Parliament that ought to have upheld the integrity of elections in this country,” he noted.
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, MP for Sefwi-Wiawso and Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, said the act had tarnished Parliament’s reputation and backed calls for an investigation.
“They have brought the dignity of this House into disrepute,” he added.
Deviation
However, some NDC MPs who spoke on the matter were dismissive, claiming that the elections were conducted in strict accordance with the secrecy of the ballots.
Yusif Sulemana, NDC MP for Bole Bamboi, stated that, to the best of his knowledge, the elections were held in secret, and encouraged anyone with proof to the contrary to come forward so that the results of the elections could be declared null and void.
He also demanded that the House establish standards for how elections in Parliament should be handled.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House