5th Parliament inaugurated

Backpage, Jan 8, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
Parliamentary democracy in Ghana was further entrenched yesterday when the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic was inaugurated.
Efforts at deepening parliamentary democracy in the country after independence failed in the past as a result of frequent military interventions until 1992 when the country decided again to use the ballot box to determine who takes charge of affairs. From then, the full cycle of four parliaments has already been achieved.
It was, therefore, all joy when the Fifth Parliament was inaugurated by the country’s first female Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo.
By the results of the December 7, 2008 parliamentary elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC),which currently has 114 seats, formed the Majority while the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with 107 seats formed the Minority.
The House also has two members from the People’s National Congress (PNC), one from the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and four independent members.
Two seats, Akwatia in the Eastern Region and Asutifi South in the Brong Ahafo Region, are yet to be declared as a result of electoral disputes.
The quest of Ghanaian women to have more representation in Parliament, however, failed to yield the needed dividend as the 25 seats in the Fourth Parliament that were occupied by women has been reduced to 20 in the current Parliament.
All the 228 MPs were present at the inauguration while both the public and press gallaries of the House were filled to capacity with both Ghanaian and foreign media, members of the diplomatic corps and a cross-section of the people.
About 140 old MPs retained their seats while the rest of the MPs are newly elected.
The beauty of the solemn ceremony was further enhanced with the splendid outfits of the MPs and the spectators.
While some of them wore the traditional Kente cloth and smock, others wore suits and other traditional apparels to drum home the beauty of unity in diversity.
Supporters of the NDC, who won majority seats and the presidency, were seen at all coners of Parliament with the party’s flags and other party paraphernalia.
At exactly 9.25 am, the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Anyimadu, convened the meeting and after he had led the day’s prayers he called for the nomination of the new Speaker of the House.
The nominations of Mrs Bamfo-Addo as Speaker and Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, MP for Ave-Avenor, as the First Deputy Speaker by the Majority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin received the support of the Minority.
In the same vein, the nomination of Professor Mike Oquaye, MP for Dome-Kwabenya, as the Second Deputy Speaker by the MP for Nsuta-Kwamang, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, received the support of the Majority thereby sparing the House the ordeal of the use of secret ballot to determine the Speaker and her two deputies.
The Chief Justice, Justice Georgina Wood, administered the oaths before the new Speaker was robed after which she swore in the 228 MPs.
The mood in the House as the two dominant political parties, NDC and NPP, exchanged seats showed that the country’s parliamentary democracy had come of age as members crossed from one side to the other to congratulate one another after they had been sworn in.
They teased each other with the ‘We are moving forward’ and ‘Yeresesamu’ that were used by the two parties during the electioneering.
Two of the independent MPs, Mr Joseph Osei-Wusu (Bekwai) and Nana Yaw Ofori-Kuragu (Bosome-Freho) told the Daily Graphic that they would prefer to belong to the Minority while the only CPP MP, Samia Nkrumah (Jomoro), said although she would sit at the Minority side, she was waiting for the review of the Standing Orders of the House for her to make up her mind.
The two PNC MPs, however confirmed that they had decided to belong to the Majority side of the House.
Some of the new MPs told the Daily Graphic that they had been well psyched up to perform their functions as MPs.
Mr Osei-Wusu called for measures that would enable Parliament to assert its independence and play its expected role without interference from the Executive.
“I expect a Parliament with fresh ideas and views from its members,” he said, adding that it was refreshing that most of the new MPs were young men who were willing to learn in order to contribute to the development of the country.
The NDC MP for Cape Coast, Mr Barton Oduro, stated that the present composition of the House was good for the country’s democracy and called for consensus building in the interest of the people.
For his part, Mr Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi (NPP-Ejisu-Juaben) said since neither the Majority nor the Minority had absolute majority, it would be better for backstage consultations to ensure that Ghanaians derived the best from the current democratic order.
Mr Ambrose Dery (NPP-Lawra/Nandom), who is now the Deputy Minority Leader, stated that although the job would be challenging, the NPP would constructively collaborate with the NDC to ensure the smooth governance of the country.
He urged the NDC to make good its promises during the electioneering, since the NPP would keep the government on its toes.
The NDC MP for Ablekuma South, Mr Flitz Baffour, said the victory of the NDC was a pleasant experience that should be backed by action to enable the people to benefit from the confidence they had reposed in the party.