The Executive Director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr. Rasheed Draman has labelled the resignation of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu as an unprecedented event in Ghana’s parliamentary history.
Following an emergency meeting between majority Caucus members and President Nana Akufo-Addo, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stepped down on Wednesday, February 21. It is reported that his Deputy, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, is set to succeed him.
In an interview with Citi News, Dr. Draman noted the rarity of majority leaders resigning, suggesting it may have been a forced move.
He emphasized that such transitions typically involve consultation, discussion, and consensus within the party and caucus.
“Majority leaders don’t resign so this came as a big surprise to me and if we piece all the events that unfolded in the last four days then there is probably only one conclusion that he was forced to resign and that he was forced to do something that is the first in the history of our parliamentary democracy at least in this fourth republic.
“Because what I know is that when leaders are going to be changed and they have been changed over the years, there is consultation, there is discussion in the party and the caucus.
“There is some kind of consensus arrived at in terms of who leads the caucus. But this is the first for me and I am not sure that this is a beautiful end to a very turning career in parliament for the leader,” he stated.
He urged the party to engage with its parliamentary members and prioritize unity, especially as they strive to achieve the ambitious goal of “Breaking the Eight.”
“At this point in time, the key thing that the party has to be doing is to reinforce the unity that exists within their ranks, inside parliament, outside parliament, at the grassroots level. This is not the time to do anything that will create division or that will bring some cracks,” he emphasized, noting the urgency of mending any divisions that may have arisen.