Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed deep concern over the significant number of incumbent MPs who lost their seats in both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries.
During the recent NPP primaries held in January, 28 sitting MPs were defeated, while the NDC primaries last year saw 17 MPs losing their candidacy bids.
Additionally, prior to the NPP primaries, 19 incumbent MPs chose not to seek re-election, with five NDC MPs making similar decisions last year.
Mr. Bagbin emphasized that the departure of numerous MPs represents a substantial loss of investment in these legislators, which is detrimental to the nation.
In his welcome address to MPs in the house, the Speaker noted that this trend does not bode well for Ghana’s democratic development and legislative continuity.
“Experience, as we all know, counts in this house, but the endorsement of your party to contest is equally important. Honourable members, the haemorrhage and cost to the nation is however, a matter of great concern worth considering by all stakeholders.”
“Honourable members, the primaries are part of the process for the electorate to determine who represents them in parliament. However, the case of voluntary discontinuance of 5 and 19 followed by this election of 17 and 28 is not a good signal for the legislation and for Ghana’s democratic development,” he noted.
He urged political parties to address this issue internally, emphasizing the impact of losing experienced MPs after just a single term in office.
Speaker Bagbin stressed the importance of parties recognizing the value of continuity and experience in parliamentary representation, urging them to implement measures to support and retain seasoned lawmakers within their ranks.
“I want to appeal to the political parties to take this matter up seriously because the investment that is made in an individual MP is so huge for the nation just to always go waste after every four years,” said the Speaker.
Meanwhile, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is also appealing to political parties to review their internal election mechanisms to safeguard sitting MPs.
He asserts that the processes and procedures employed by parties in the selection of candidates directly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of parliament in conducting its business.
He added that “This ultimately impacts the growth of apartment and democracy of the country.”