Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has declared his intention not to seek re-election after his current term expires in 2024.
The Suame MP, who also doubles as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with JoyNews.
“We have sounded from the rooftops already, which means that the decision has been made. I’m not contesting; that’s for the avoidance of doubt,” he said.
“Time comes that one must decide to bow out when the applause is loudest,” he added.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was first elected into Parliament during the 1996 Ghanaian General Elections on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ticket to represent the Suame Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
He polled 47,455 votes out of the 64,394 valid votes cast, representing 57.40% against Paul Yeboah, an NDC member who polled 10,828 votes; Azong Alhassan, a PNC member who polled 3,219 votes and Habiba Atta, a CPP member who polled 2,892 votes.
He since has served as MP for Suame and is currently the longest-serving member of Parliament.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has seen it all, served as Minority Whip, minority leader, and now majority leader.
By the end of this Parliament, he will be holding the joint record with the current Speaker of Parliament as the longest-serving MP in the 4th republican History.