Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante has asserted that the voting out of experienced members from parliament will in no way affect parliamentary proceedings.
According to him, replacing these experienced parliamentarians with new faces will affect parliamentary proceedings in a way, but it does not mean the work of parliament will come to a standstill.
Dr. Asah Asante noted that because parliament is a socialization ground, the new entrants will gradually learn the ropes of parliamentary proceedings through training, mentoring and retraining from the few experienced parliamentarians remaining in the house.
Speaking in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show aired on e.TVGhana and Happy 98.9 FM, the Political Analyst said, “It is true the number of experienced MPs have been reduced in the 8th parliament and that will affect the work of parliament but will not halt it. No one was born in parliament”.
To him, with parliament being a socialization avenue which has seen some new entrants graduate from MPs to Vice Presidents and Presidents, then, “the new faces can learn, graduate and also help parliament grow. New entrants will in now way collapse parliament”, he reiterated.
On his authority, if only experienced parliamentarians could run the affairs of the state, then the retired and deceased parliamentarians should be made to return to parliament.
A total number of 111 members of the seventh parliament will not return to the legislative house for the eight parliament in January 2021.
The New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress will both have some of their MPs not returning to parliament because some lost at the parliamentary elections last Monday, others lost at their primaries with others voluntarily retiring.
This means seventy-eight (78) members of the NPP and and thirty-three (33) NDC MPs will not return to the eighth (8) parliament.
By: Joel Sanco
