A former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Majority Leader in Parliament, Abraham Osei Addo is calling on political parties to put in place measures to maintain the leaders of both the majority and the minority in Parliament.
[contextly_sidebar id=”VFmtXNyXV2Sp0ivKUlUXIuHIEESVGAjD”]He said political parties must not allow MPs’ leadership positions to be contested during parliamentary primaries saying such an action is dangerous for the country’s democratic development.
Incumbent Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu had earlier asked his party, the NPP not to allow any party member to challenges him in the party’s upcoming parliamentary primaries to enable him to be maintained to serve the NPP in parliament.
His appeal has been met with mixed reactions from members of the party.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News on the sidelines of the inauguration of a campaign office for the embattled Tema West parliamentary candidate, Carlos Ahenkora in Tema, the former Majority leader called for the need for an affirmative action to protect the leadership of parliament.
This he said will enhance the democracy of the country and strengthen Parliament.
“The seat of the leader of the House is a high position, you don’t just get there, you have to earn it. And for one to be there means he’s gone through a lot milling, training and grilling,” he said.
Abraham Osei said “if for any reason the party thinks that person must not be there, there must be a way of getting him out quietly but if there is no reason and the person wants to be back in Parliament and has the proven capacity, he needs to be protected.”
He said “in England for instance, the Speaker of House who is also an MP is not contested by any party. Ghana needs to have such policy so that both sides of the political divide whether NPP, NDC, their leaders must be given that continuity because they are assets to the party and to Parliament and to the whole nation.
“I can tell you, Mensah Bonsu is a wonderful guy for all the leaders, J.H. Mensah, Owusu Ankomah, Owusu Agyepong and myself, he was the man behind us. And so who don’t just open him up to devoured because we say we are democratic. We need to have some kind of affirmative action in that respect for both leaders of the House.”
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh and Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana