The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has called for conscious consensus-building in Ghana’s politics to help do away with the winner-takes-all practice, which he said delays national progress.
He said that in history, the most durable national reforms, such as economic recovery programmes, constitutional reforms and peace agreements, had emerged not from one party imposing its will but from multiple actors negotiating a shared path forward.
“In many democracies, including ours, electoral victory sometimes creates the illusion that 50 per cent plus one equals total authority, yet governments in diverse societies demand broader legitimacy as majorities govern but consensus sustains,” he said.
National priorities must endure
At the launch of a project on political inclusion and consensus building in Accra yesterday, Mr Bagbin said, “When political actors embrace winner-takes-all governance, governance becomes cynical, policies reversed, programmes abandoned and national progress delayed.
“Citizens pay the price of political discontinuity,” he said, and expressed the optimism that the consensus-building project would strengthen the culture of dialogue and cooperation to ensure that when governments changed, national priorities would endure.
The project will seek to strengthen cross-party engagement within Parliament, encourage issue-based collaboration among political parties, and promote inclusive participation, especially among women and youth.
Targeted mainly at young politicians, the project is also meant to reduce political polarisation and institutionalise dialogue mechanisms beyond election cycles.
It is an initiative of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs and the Switzerland Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Speaker said democracy was strongest when everyone felt respected, represented and not only those who won elections.
In his view, democracy weakened when the winner-takes-all was the order of the day.
“Democracy triumphs when all voices, majority and minority voices, dominant and peripheral voices, articulate the national cause.”
“The beauty of a symphony is in diversity of flutes; a fine blend of male, female, children’s voices singing in unison,” he said.
Quoting James Kwegyir Aggrey, a pioneer of higher education for Africans, the Speaker said, “If you play only the white notes on the piano, you get only sharps but if only the black keys, you get flats.
But if you play the two together, you get harmony and beautiful music”.
Saying such wise saying was akin to democracy. Mr Bagbin said, “We have to play the two notes together to get harmony, to get peace and beautiful development”.
Do away with mistrust
Mr Bagbin pointed out that political exclusion bred frustration and frustration bred mistrust which in turn bred instability.
On the other hand, he said inclusion did the opposite as it strengthened legitimacy, encouraged participation and nurtured national unity.
With political parties serving as the gateways to representation, the Speaker said Parliament was the arena for decision-making on national issues.
He, therefore, said inclusion must begin in parties and mature in Parliament.
“Our debates, whether on the floor or at any platform, must illuminate, not inflame; the dignity of Parliament shapes the dignity of national discourse.”
“Young people today learn politics not from textbooks but from our words, tone and conduct; Parliament is a mirror of society and if Parliament models hostility, society mirrors hostility.”
He added: “If Parliament models respect, society mirrors respect and we must therefore build a parliamentary culture where arguments defeat anger and persuasion replaces provocation”.
Project
The Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Simone Giger, said across the world, political polarisation was deepening public trust and political institutions were under strain.
She said the consensus-building would engage political parties as the primary vehicles of democratic competition and cooperation.
Inclusive democracy
The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, said the Caucus’ leadership and that of the Business Committee had taken a decision that if a committee was working on any policy document, they needed to invite civil society groups and take their inputs, which must be captured in their reports.
“That is also a fundamental mechanism that we have instituted to ensure an inclusive Parliament and democracy to achieve better results,” he said.
Constructive engagement
The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said a closely divided Parliament was evidence of plurality.
Negotiation in such circumstances was not optional but essential, he said.
“Political rivals must become constitutional partners when national interest demands it, and consensus in this regard requires constructive engagement.”
“It requires listening with respect and disagreeing with civility in which way Parliament fulfils its highest purpose as the guardian of democratic dialogue,” he said.
Source: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Daily Graphic
