The Executive Director of the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), Michael Donyinah Mensah, has declared that Parliament has come to a halt due to selfish and personal political interests on both sides of the House.

Donyinah Mensah believes that the national interest, or the interests of the constituents who voted for them, are no longer relevant.

He remarked that it has become clear that our lawmakers are losing sight of why we elected them, as they engage in actions that benefit their selfish interests.

Speaking with Kwabena Agyapong, host of Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he stated that the recent controversy in the House would not have occurred if our parliamentarians had the nation’s best interests in mind.

He expressed concern about how parliamentarians have behaved, the declaration of the four vacant seats, and the fallout that has resulted, particularly Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to suspend sitting indefinitely pending court proceedings and other related matters.

“With all of these issues emerging, we can conclude that it appears our politicians, political class, and parliamentarians are not engaging in or performing the primary purpose of being in Parliament. Their primary and core function in the House is to conduct government or Ghanaian business, but this has become secondary to them.

"Their personal interests have now taken precedence and are the most important thing to them. There was no reason for Parliament to come to a halt solely because of this issue,” he said.

Michael Donyinah Mensah, on the other hand, praised the Speaker for how he handled events on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, adding, “That was the proper thing for the Speaker to do.”

“I say this because those in charge of government business, which is one of the reasons why the Supreme Court dealt with the matter as quickly as possible, are clearly unprepared for government business. It appears there was a need to resolve who is the majority and minority before business in the House could continue, which was unfortunate. Their primary concern is not the urgent work of the government, but rather their personal interests.”