A former National Treasurer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Akane Adabengba Adams, has urged minority parties especially those without representation in Parliament to support the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the June 27 Assin North by-election to maintain the current near hung Parliament in the interest of Ghana’s democracy and control the public purse.
He said with the current economic downturn, an absolute majority in Parliament especially from the ruling government was dangerous for Ghana’s economy and could further exacerbate the sufferings of the people.
Akane, as he prefers to be called, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that it was time for the smaller political parties to assume a compromised position on their ideologies and align themselves with the NDC on the by-election for the sake of parliamentary democracy.
The former treasurer who is in the Central Region as a PNC member to back the NDC candidate, James Gyakye Quayson, said an absolute majority in Parliament would lead to the passage of bills which may not be in the interest of the people of Ghana because “the majority will always use their numbers to push them through.”
Until James Gyakye Quayson’s seat was declared vacant, the NDC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had 137 seats each in the House with one Independent candidate who tilts towards the NPP to form a slim majority.
Last month, the Supreme Court, by a unanimous decision, ordered Ghana’s Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records as a Member of Parliament for the Assin North Constituency.