The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, has expressed concern over the decision by some Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Minority Caucus to breach the practice of secret voting in Parliament.
He said the MPs took videos and photos of their votes in last Friday’s vote on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s ministerial and Supreme Court justice nominees.
The Second Deputy Speaker, who is also an independent MP for the Fomena Constituency, in the Ashanti Region, said the action of the MPs violated the secrecy of votes, which should not be allowed to recur.
In a statement on the floor of Parliament, yesterday, Mr Amoako said the action was an affront to Article 104 of the 1992 Constitution and Order 10(b) of the Standing Orders of the House.
“The elections were held in secret, but we have read on various social media platforms that some of our members, probably as a matter of proving a point, videoed and took pictures of how they voted.
“I understand and appreciate why they did that, but the fact of the matter is that their actions are an affront to the electoral process,” Mr. Amoako said.
As the bastion of the country’s democracy, Mr. Amoako said MPs should set good examples for the general population to follow.
“We are supposed to be the crème of our democratic dispensation and whatever we do must show that we understand what we are doing.
“I submit that going forward, if we are to vote, in as much as we may want to prove to the caucus leaders, constituents, or the party that indeed this is the way we voted, we should also be reminded that whatever we do here conforms with general rule of voting in the country,” he said.
Mr. Yusif Sulemana, MP for Bole/Bamboi, called for the annulment of the polls if indeed there were evidence that MPs took pictures of their votes and revealed same.
“To the best of my knowledge, the election was conducted in secrecy, but if there is any evidence to suggest that it was not done in secrecy, then the result should be declared null and void.”
Mr. Sulemana said ‘going forward’, there would be the need for the House to adopt standards on how voting should be conducted because the mode kept changing anytime there was a vote.
But the MP for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfrom, Sylvester Tetteh, disagreed with the call for the votes to be annulled.
He urged the House to “purge itself of this unfortunate development,” and said MPs would not have the moral right to educate their constituents if the practice was not stopped.
“I understand and appreciate why they did that, but the fact of the matter is that their actions are an affront to the electoral process,” Mr Amoako said.
As the bastion of the country’s democracy, Mr Amoako said MPs should set good examples for the general population to follow.