The African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has stressed that walkouts are an ineffective political strategy for the Minority caucus in Parliament.
In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on January 25, 2025, Dr. Rasheed Draman, Executive Director of ACEPA, discussed how the current parliamentary dynamics, along with those of past Parliaments, affect the efficacy of such tactics.
Dr. Draman reviewed the historical use of walkouts in Ghana’s Parliament and assessed their pros and cons, drawing comparisons between the Minority’s situation in the 9th Parliament and the NDC’s position in the 8th Parliament.
He pointed out that in the 8th Parliament, the NDC Minority had the advantage of numerical strength, which gave them the ability to disrupt government business or extract concessions from the Majority. However, he noted that the NDC did not fully exploit this advantage.
“For four years, the NDC could have used their position to hold government business to ransom, but they didn’t,” Dr. Draman said. “They were in a stronger position than the NPP is now, yet they didn’t take full advantage. One could ask if their strategy was weak, as they did not push the same issues the NPP is raising now.”
In the current 9th Parliament, the NPP Minority faces a different challenge, as the NDC holds a significant majority, with over 180 seats, compared to the NPP’s 88. This disparity means that the NPP does not have the numbers to disrupt parliamentary proceedings effectively through walkouts or other tactics.
Dr. Draman also explained that walkouts are often used by opposition parties to express dissatisfaction, boycott debates, or draw attention to perceived mismanagement by the Majority. However, the success of this tactic is highly dependent on the balance of power in Parliament and the willingness of the Majority to engage with the Minority in a constructive manner.
Given the current numerical dominance of the NDC, Dr. Draman concluded that walkouts by the NPP Minority are unlikely to have any meaningful impact.
