In a recent interview on NPP's Election Coverage on Citi FM, Ebenezer Gilbert Nii Narh Nartey, the former MP for Ablekuma Central, raised concerns about the calibre of individuals currently being elected to the parliament to legislate for the country.
Nartey lamented that the new MPs replacing their predecessors have fallen short of expectations, emphasizing a deficiency of legislators with intellectual depth in the current parliament. He expressed scepticism regarding the proficiency of the current MPs in representing their constituencies compared to those in the 7th parliament.
He attributed the subpar quality of MPs to the prevalence of vote-buying, highlighting that, in many instances, the highest bidder secures the votes, often at the expense of more experienced lawmakers.
“Now the politics that we are doing, if you don't have the resources, you might not get the quality people. It's the money game now. In the 7th parliament, I saw the aggressiveness of the first-timers that went to parliament on both sides, from 2017 to 2021,” Nartey stated.
Expressing his worry about the current scenario, he said, “I have seen the first-timers of this parliament. And I have seen those who are going to replace certain people who are not running again. Honestly, there are certain people in Parliament today who cannot represent us [Ghana], not even in Togo. I'm telling you. If Speaker Alban Bagbin says that I want you to go and attend this programme in Togo on behalf of Ghana, they cannot. That's my worry.”
Nartey called for the sensitization of polling station executives by the various political parties to ensure that they elect quality breeds of MPs. He emphasized the importance of parties conducting proper research and investigations about the candidates to avoid the dominance of vote-buying in the electoral process.