Parliament of Ghana

Parliament of Ghana
Parliament of Ghana

logo	Parliament building
Basic data
Seat:	Accra , Ghana
Legislative period :	4 years
MPs:	275
Current legislative period
Last choice:	December 7, 2016
Chair:	Speaker Edward Adjaho ( NDC )
Distribution of seats:	 NPP 171  NDC 104
Website
www.parliament.gh

The Parliament of Ghana (Engl. Parliament of Ghana ) is the legislative organ of the Ghanaian presidential republic . In addition to the President of Ghana , who, in addition to his function as head of state, also functions as head of government, the Ghanaian parliament is the second state body that receives its legitimation through elections directly from the Ghanaian people.

In the last parliament in 2008, a total of 230 parliamentarians from 230 electoral districts were elected directly to office using majority voting. Parliament in Ghana is since Jan. 7, 2009 Rt. Hon. Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo as Speaker of the Parliament (Engl. Speaker of Parliament ) before. She is the first woman to hold this office.

Today's Ghanaian parliament is based on Ghana's fourth constitution from 1992. This regulates the essential basis of the parliament in Chapter 10, in paragraphs 93 to 123 of the constitutional text. The minimum membership of 140 parliamentarians is already set on the constitutional basis (Chapter 10, Paragraph 93). Chapter seven of the constitution regulates the right to vote and the existence of political parties (Chapter 7, Paragraphs 42 to 56).

Assignment of mandates

Main article: Constitution of Ghana

Any Ghanaian citizen who has reached the age of at least 21, has paid his taxes and is resident in the constituency in which he is applying for a direct mandate is eligible for election and therefore has the right to stand (Chapter 10, Paragraph 9). A candidate can also reside in another constituency, but must then have been resident in the constituency for which he is applying for at least five of the last 10 years prior to his candidacy for the office of Member of Parliament (Chapter 10, Paragraph 94b).

According to Chapter 7 of the 1992 constitution, Ghana is divided into electoral districts, the number of which must always correspond to the number of seats in parliament. In the elections of 1992, 1996 and 2000, Ghana was still divided into 200 constituencies, so parliament had 200 seats. It was not until the 2004 election that some constituencies and, with the accompanying administrative reform, also other districts were reallocated. Since then there have been 230 constituencies and the parliament has 230 seats. When dividing the constituencies, the constitution of the regions of Ghana must be taken into account. No constituency may extend to more than one region (Chapter 7, Paragraph 47, Paragraph 2). The constituencies should be as large as possible, i.e. with an equally large proportion of the population in each constituency (Chapter 7, Paragraph 47, Paragraph 7). However, deviations from this can be made due to the geographical peculiarities of the constituency, the distribution of telecommunications technology in the constituency or taking into account an area that traditionally belongs together (Chapter 7, Paragraph 47, Paragraph 4). No person can be elected as a member of parliament who already holds a public position in the civil service or holds the position of incumbent traditional ruler ( chief ) (Chapter 10, Paragraph 94g, Paragraph 3b). In addition to being a judge , this exclusion also includes serving with the Ghanaian police , the statistical office or the national fire brigade (Chapter 10, Paragraph 94g, Paragraph 3b). The existence of traditional rulers in Ghana is constitutionally guaranteed. The traditional rulers choose chiefs from their ranks, who assemble in the National House of Chiefs and act as an advisory body with constitutional status for the other state organs and can thus also have an advisory influence on the legislation of parliament.

The right to vote is always person with Ghanaian nationals from the 18th year of life. The election is secret in Ghana. A simple majority in the election of members of parliament in their constituency is sufficient to be considered elected. If only one candidate is nominated, there will be no election and the candidate will be appointed (Chapter 7, Paragraph 50, Paragraph 3). The elected representative of a constituency moves directly into parliament.

A member of parliament loses his seat in parliament according to Paragraph 97 para. 1 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 if it

• is elected speaker of parliament,
• is removed from his seat by Parliament,
• absent without excuse from at least fifteen parliamentary sessions and subsequently cannot make a sufficient statement to the parliamentary council for privileges, or
• resigns from office by means of a written declaration to the speaker of parliament,
• could no longer run as a member of parliament in an election according to Section 94 of the Constitution
• was elected as an independent candidate to parliament and later joins a political party.

The parliamentarians are appropriately acc. Paragraph 71 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 paid. It is according to you Paragraph 98 (2) of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 forbids either directly or indirectly engaging in profitable activities as long as this has not been approved by the Speaker of Parliament.

After the elections, each member of parliament has to take an oath of office in front of parliament. Prior to this oath, a member of parliament may not exercise any activity other than participate in the elections for speaker of parliament (Article 100 of the Ghanaian constitution of 1992).

Organization of Parliament

Speaker of Parliament

After the elections, the strongest party in parliament has the right to nominate the Speaker of Parliament . The majority party will propose a suitable candidate for this in parliament, taking into account the interests of other parties (Chapter 10, Paragraph 95). The position of parliamentary speaker does not have to be assigned to a member of the newly elected parliament, but the parliamentary speaker must in principle demonstrate the suitability for the office of parliamentary member.

As long as the position of speaker of parliament is not occupied or is vacant in the current term of office, according to Paragraph 95, Paragraph 2 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992, no resolutions are passed or elections are held, except for the election of a speaker for Parliament (Chapter 10, Paragraph 95, Paragraph 3). A spokesman for parliament is leaving according to Chapter 10, Section 95 Paragraph 2 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 from office if he

• declares his resignation in writing to the clerk,
• is removed from office before a three-quarters majority in parliament,
• Becomes minister or state minister in the incumbent government, or
• a circumstance occurs which would preclude the speaker in an election for parliament from voting.

Before taking office, the parliamentary speaker elected by a simple majority of parliament takes his oath of office. Rt. Hon. Joyce Bamford-Addo is currently Speaker of Parliament.

The speaker of the parliament has the house rules and ensures the observance of order in parliament and is chairman of the parliament administration. The speaker of parliament has to behave impartially. As a rule, the speaker of parliament does not have to intervene in debates, but rather to ensure that the debates run smoothly. The speaker of the parliament is explicitly allowed to use his influence behind the scenes in order to reach an agreement between the ruling party and the opposition. In addition, the speaker must be notified in writing of the resignation of a member of parliament from his office and permission must be obtained to take on a secondary job .

see also: List of Ghana's parliament speakers

Deputy Speaker of Parliament

The speaker of the parliament has two deputies to perform his duties. Both deputies should acc. Paragraph 96, Paragraph 1 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 come from different parties and be members of parliament. First Deputy Speaker of Parliament at Freddie Blay of the Convention People's Party (CPP). Hon. Malik A. Yakubu of the ruling party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was elected as the second deputy speaker of parliament .

Others

The chairman of the majority party ( Majority Leader ) and the chairman of the second largest group ( Minority Leader ) also play leading roles within Parliament . During parliamentary debates, the group chairmen are responsible for maintaining order within their groups. They prepare the day-to-day business of parliament and appear in public as leading representatives of parliament. Both positions within the parliamentary groups are filled by simple majority voting by the respective members of the parliamentary groups. Felix Owusu-Adjapong of the New Patriotic Party is currently chairman of the majority party and Alban Bagbin is chairman of the second largest party, the National Democratic Congress .

Organization of MPs

The Ghanaian parliament has a committee for every important subject area . In the case of the committees, there are, on the one hand, the fixed committees that were established in the first parliamentary session in Section 103, Paragraph 2 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 will be filled after the election of the Speaker of Parliament and his deputy. On the other hand, further committees are to be appointed by Parliament as required. According to Section 103 of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992, every parliamentarian should serve on at least one committee. According to Section 103 (5) of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992, the committees should, if possible, be composed according to the relationship between the parties.

The permanent committees include:

• Finance Committee ( Finance Committee )
• Committee of Gender and Children ( Gender and Children Committee )
• Committee on Government assurances ( Government Assurances Committee )
• Parliament's Committee ( House Committee )
• Committee on personnel matters ( Appointments Committee )
• Economic Committee ( Business Committee )
• Committee for Public Accounting ( Public Accounts Committee )
• Selection Committee ( Selection Committee )
• Committee on subsidiary legislation ( Subsidiary Legislation Committee )
• ( Members Holding Offices of Profit Committee )
• Committee on Privileges ( Privileges Committee )
• Rights Committee ( Judiciary Committee )
• Committee for Special Financing ( Special Budget Committee )
• Committee on the rules and procedures in Parliament ( Standing Orders Committee )

The other parliamentary committees include:

• Communications Committee ( Communications Committee )
• Committee of Land and Forests ( Lands and Forestry Committee )
• Committee on Agriculture, Food and Cocoa Affairs ( Agriculture, Food and Cocoa Affairs Committee )
• Committee on Local Government and Rural Development ( Local Government & Rural Development Committee )
• Committee on Labor and Construction ( Works and Housing Committee )
• Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ( Constitutional, Legal & Parliamentary Affairs Committee )
• Health Committee ( Health Committee )
• Committee on Roads and Transport ( Roads and Transport Committee )
• Defense and Internal Affairs Committee ( Defense & Interior Committee )
• Youth and Sports Committee ( Youth & Sports Committee )
• Board of Education ( Education Committee )
• Committee on Mines and Energy ( Mines & Energy Committee )
• Environmental, Science and Technology Committee ( Environment, Science & Technology Committee )
• Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism ( Trade, Industry & Tourism Committee )

History of parliament

The members of the Legislative Council ( Legislative Council ) the Gold Coast in 1919

The session room of the Gold Coast Legislative Council in 1919

Ghana achieved independence from the former colonial power Great Britain on March 6, 1957 via the crown colony of the Gold Coast . However, almost 100 years before independence, the Gold Coast was given a Legislative Council in 1850, which assisted the governor in matters relating to the implementation of laws and ordinances. Contrary to its name, this Legislative Council had no participation in the legislation, which was solely in the hands of the colonial power, but only had advisory powers to maintain law and order in the colony.

In 1916 the Legislative Council was restructured. It now consisted of nine members, six of whom should be Africans, eleven permanent members and the governor himself. Under the Guggisberg Constitution , the first elections to the Legislative Council were then held in 1925. Even under this constitution, the governor still had sole power over the legislation of the Gold Coast.

In 1946 the Guggisberg Constitution was put into effect by the Burns Constitution, which for the first time gave the elected representatives of the people a proportional majority in the Legislative Council compared to the permanent members of the colonial power. It was not until 1951 that the system was changed again due to the 1950 constitution. Only with this constitution was the Legislative Council allowed to elect the speaker of parliament itself. In 1951, the first elections also took place for the now known as the Legislative Assembly with 75 elected representatives. Only three members appointed by the colonial power and six appointed representatives of the interests of trade and mining faced these elected representatives.

Another constitutional amendment in 1954 introduced a party system and increased the number of members of parliament to 104 representatives, who were filled again in the 1954 elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Gold Coast and later elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Gold Coast in 1956 . Another constitutional amendment in 1957 changed the political structure again and shaped the constitution according to the Westminster system . In June 1960, 10 women entered the National Assembly for the first time in newly created seats. On July 1, 1960, Ghana achieved its full sovereignty, the post of prime minister became a strong president who became both head of state and head of government. There were no parliamentary elections in 1960 despite the seat expansion.

After President Kwame Nkrumah enacted a one-party system through a constitutional amendment in February 1964 , members of parliament and parties other than the ruling party became members of illegal organizations almost overnight, and some were imprisoned. The parliamentary elections in Ghana in 1965 resulted in all parliamentary seats being filled by President Nkrumah 's Convention People's Party . The parliamentary function was in fact in the hands of the President. With the military coup of 1966, not only was the president overthrown, but the constitution was also suspended. The government of the National Liberation Council ruled as a military junta without a representative body. There was no parliament until the return to democracy in 1969. In the parliamentary elections in Ghana in 1969 , 140 seats were again awarded in parliament, the strongest party was the Progress Party of Kofi Abrefa Busia .

After 22 months of democracy and an elected parliament, another military coup under Ignatius Kutu Acheampong in January 1972 and October 1979 ended the existence of a Ghanaian parliament. At the end of 1979 democratic conditions were reintroduced and a new constitution came into force. The parliamentary elections in Ghana in 1979 were held and 140 representatives took up their duties.

This third republic of Ghana was ended in a military coup in December 1981 by Jerry Rawlings . Under military dictator Rawlings, the Fourth Republic was proclaimed in Ghana on January 7, 1992, and Rawlings was elected president in the 1992 elections. In this Fourth Republic the parliamentary elections in 1992 , 1996 , 2000 and 2004 were held four times democratically. The change of political power brought about by the 2000 elections also went without incident.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Speaker of Parliament
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Constitution of Ghana, Chapter 10 ( Memento of the original from November 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Constitution of Ghana, Chapter 7 ( Memento of the original from November 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Parliament in Ghana, speaker
5. ↑ Parliamentary committees online

Web links

• Homepage of the Ghanaian Parliament
• Constitution of Ghana