Bagbin Warns Extreme Partisan Polarisation Of Parliament Could Lead To Public Unrest
- Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has raised concern about the extreme partisan polarisation of parliament
- He has warned that if the trend is not stopped, it could lead to public unrest and disrupt the country's democracy
- He stated that parliamentarians must choose national interest over partisan interest to improve public confidence in the institution
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Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin has warned that the current parliament's extreme partisan polarisation could foment public unrest in the near future.
According to him, members of parliament prioritising their partisan political interests above the national interest has led to widespread disenchantment among the Ghanaian population.
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He told the audience at the University of Ghana (UG) Alumni Lecture that public trust in parliament is clearly eroding due to parliamentarians' failure to tackle national issues effectively.
Speaking on the theme “30 Years of Parliamentary Democracy: The Journey Thus Far,” Bagbin noted that recent youth uprisings in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and other African countries should concern lawmakers as they could be easily emulated in Ghana.
He said parliamentarians’ failure to unite for the public interest and instead choosing party loyalty impedes legislative progress and deepens the perception that lawmakers are out of touch with ordinary Ghanaians' reality.
If not stopped, Bagbin warned that the trend could incite frustrated Ghanaians to revolt against elected officials.
He thus urged lawmakers to commit to collaborative politics to restore faith in the democratic process.
Bagbin calls for review of 1992 constitution
Earlier, Bagbin also called for a review of the 1992 constitution.
He said while the constitution has been instrumental in maintaining the country’s political stability, its framework has also significantly hindered national development.
Bagbin stated that the growing disillusionment with the country’s democracy among the youth is partly due to the 1992 constitutional framework’s inability to deliver the democratic dividends Ghanaians were promised.
Referencing the 2024 Afrobarometer report, he noted that the growing disillusionment with democracy poses a significant threat to the nation’s democratic credentials.
Alban Bagbin bemoaned the excessive concentration of power in the executive branch in the 1992 constitution as one of the factors contributing to this disillusionment.
He stated that the situation unbalances the power distribution among the three arms of government, further undermining checks and balances and separation of powers.
Bagbin supports calls to abolish ex gratia payments
YEN.com.gh reported that the speaker of Ghana's parliament, Alban Bagbin, has reiterated calls for abolishing ex gratia payments to Article 71 officeholders.
He said the payments no longer serve their intended purpose.
He revealed that ex gratia payments were intended to deter public officers from engaging in corruption; however, the mechanism has failed.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
