Ghana’s Hung Parliament

Ghana’s 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic is a “Hung Parliament,” since no party has a clear majority. The Hung Parliament, since 2021, is the first in the history of Ghana’s 4th republic.

As it stands, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) the incumbent government has 137 representatives in the House, while the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) also has 137 members of Parliament, with just one MP as an independent candidate.

A good number of Ghanaians believe the “Hung” Parliament has made MPs more effective at scrutinising government spending, which is helping to enhance, promote and strengthen democracy and good governance.

Dr. Rasheed Draman the Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEP) in an interview with RGGNEWS said even though for the first time Parliament is equally divided between the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC, the independent candidate leans toward the NPP which gives them an edge over the NDC in terms of numbers. “

Dr. Draman says the Hung Parliament had a lot of consensus and negotiations and posed some difficulty to the President regarding his legislative agenda in the House.

The ACEP Executive Director is predicting another Hung Parliament after the 2024 general election, but then, he says that will be a decision for Ghanaians to make.

Renowned governance expert, Mr. Frederick Agyarko Oduro, eloquently conveyed his sentiments on the matter at hand, emphasizing the inherent weakness of our current parliamentary system that excessively subordinates itself to the executive branch.

With deep concern, he expressed his lack of faith in both the government and the opposition, attributing this mistrust to the tumultuous state of our Hung Parliament.

Regrettably, he says, this impasse has engendered more discord than the much-needed harmony, depriving the Ghanaian populace of the legislative efficacy and effective governance they earnestly desire. He mentions issues like the Deputy Speaker sitting in as Speaker, and whether he had the right to vote as one of the challenges that brought some delays in the affairs of House.

Mr. Frederick Agyarko Oduro, emphasizes that Parliament thrives on experience and given the worrying numbers of incumbent Parliamentarians exiting, and creating a “huge void”, it could threaten Parliament’s capacity. He says this is because “I do not see any political party winning by a landslide in the next election”.