MPs who fight in Parliament must be treated as criminals and prosecuted – Annoh-Dompreh

The Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, says MPs who engage in open fights during Parliamentary proceedings should be treated as criminals and made to face the law.

The Nsawam Adoagyiri legislator said the lawmakers must have a sense of respect for their constituents who have given them the mandate to be their representatives.

“I will insist, if this thing [fighting in Parliament] happens again, that all the people involved must face the full rigours of the law. They must be treated as any criminal anywhere and all these MPs [who engage] in such acts must lose their privileges.”

“If anybody in the Majority gets that dirty, they should face the full rigours of the law. We expect the Minority to be civil. We’re not expecting them to sing our praises to agree with everything we put across, but let’s have some decorum, let’s have some civility,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Asaase Radio.

Proceedings in Parliament on Monday, December 20, 2021 were brought to a halt following the fisticuff among members of the two sides of the House.

The chaos erupted when the First Deputy Speaker allegedly tried to vacate his seat for the Second Deputy Speaker in order to partake in the ongoing voting exercise.

Following the incident, Parliament adjourned proceedings to January 25, thereby cutting short any attempt to approve or reject the E-levy Bill.

Ahead of the resubmission of the levy for debate and consideration, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP wants errant colleagues to be dealt with and sanctioned accordingly, adding that “if we continue in this lane, we will not have the grounds to go to the Ghanaian people and ask them to vote for us again.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Rasheed Draman, has cautioned the Majority in Parliament against comments that undermine the Speaker’s credibility, Alban Bagbin.

The Speaker has been criticised by the NPP MPs for his continuous absence in the chamber, an action they said is affecting government business.

But Dr. Draman believes such pronouncement derails a good working relationship between the Speaker and the Majority Caucus.