The Member of Parliament for Jirapa Constituency, Cletus Seidu Dapilah, has called on both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to reconsider the timing of their parliamentary primaries.

Speaking on GHOne TV, Dapilah expressed disappointment over the number of first-time MPs who will not be returning to the 9th Parliament. He emphasized that two years is insufficient to properly assess the performance of an MP.

Dapilah suggested that political parties reconsider the timing of their parliamentary primaries to ensure MPs have enough time to demonstrate their capabilities.

He based this on his own experience in the outgoing Parliament, where he was subjected to contestation within his first two years—time that he believes is too short to fully assess an MP’s impact.

He further advocated for first-time MPs to be given more time in office, stressing the importance of allowing them to grow into their roles.

Additionally, Dapilah suggested that outgoing MPs with longer service should be invited to share their knowledge and experience with the newer members, to ensure that valuable insights are not lost.

“I am not happy because I noticed that a lot of first-timers are not coming back. To come to parliament for one term and exist sometimes might not be your fault and I have always said that you can’t honestly use two years to assess an MP. The political parties should look at the timing they conduct their parliamentary primaries.”

“Parliament is a school that you have to come, take your time, to learn and even navigate around that building. You need time to do that, you need time to know which office is this, where you can go and get this, you need time to learn parliamentary procedure.”

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