Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, a former UN senior governance advisor, has condemned political parties, especially the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for interfering in the affairs and conduct of their lawmakers in Parliament.
His comment is in reference to the approval of President Akufo-Addo’s six ministerial nominees by Parliament last week despite a directive from party executives for their MPs to vote against them.
The opposition NDC has expressed disappointment at its Minority caucus in Parliament who voted to approve the six nominees.
Three of the 275 MPs eligible to vote were absent from the House. Of the remaining 272 members, 270 successfully cast their ballots. One member abstained and there was one rejected ballot.
Speaking to the sit-in host of the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (27 March), Agyeman-Duah said such actions do not only make the MPs “zombies” but also weaken Parliamentary democracy.
“What I will be more concerned about is their manifesto, …If your Parliamentarians are going contrary to your manifesto, then I can understand why you can step in to play the whipping role.
“But when you have elected a government and your MPs are voting on a certain issue, they should have the freedom to vote the way their constituents think hoping that they consult them,” he said.
“While I am not opposed to political parties playing a role in the actions of their MPs in the legislature, I am against party’s issuing directives to MPs, otherwise we will make our MPs become zombies,” Agyeman-Duah said.