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Spencer Wan Blog of Sunday, 26 January 2025

Source: Eric Afatsao

Walking out as a tactic won't work for minority caucuses, according to ACEPA

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As a political tactic, walkouts have shown to be counterproductive for the Minority caucus in Parliament, according to the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA).


ACEPA's Executive Director, Dr. Rasheed Draman, expressed this viewpoint in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Saturday, January 25, emphasizing how the dynamics of the past and present Parliaments affect how successful such strategies are.

In contrast to the NDC's stance in the 8th Parliament, Dr. Draman looked at the historical background of walkouts in Ghana's Parliament, the strategic benefits and drawbacks of the Minority's activities, and the particular difficulties the NPP caucus faces in the 9th Parliament.

Dr. Draman reflected on the strategic advantages held by the NDC Minority in the 8th Parliament, when the party was well-positioned to disrupt government business due to the numerical composition of Parliament.

He said during the 8th Parliament, the NDC could have leveraged its strength to halt proceedings or compel concessions from the Majority, yet such opportunities were not maximised.

“For four years, we didn’t see the NDC, and in fact, they were well-positioned because they could hold government business to ransom in the 8th Parliament than the NPP can do in this Parliament, but we didn’t see any of that. And one will ask was that a weak strategy on their [NDC’s] part, that they didn’t speak for the same issues that are being spoken by the NPP.

“Given the numbers that they [the NPP] have, I believe that they have lined up a number of strategies because a walkout in this Parliament is not going to achieve very much because quorum could still be formed without them.”

In contrast, the current NPP Minority faces a different set of circumstances in the 9th Parliament, where the NDC Majority has a significantly larger representation.

The NDC won an overwhelming majority, securing more than 180 seats compared to the NPP’s 88. This means the NPP lacks the numerical strength to disrupt proceedings or meaningfully influence decisions through walkouts or other tactics.

Traditionally, walkouts are employed by opposition parties to demonstrate dissatisfaction, boycott debates, or draw attention to issues they believe are being mishandled by the Majority.

However, as Dr. Draman pointed out, the success of such strategies heavily depends on the numerical balance in Parliament and the political will of the Majority to engage constructively with the Minority.