Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast.[5] The body called the Legislative Council, was purely advisory as the Governor exercised all legislative and executive powers. Reforms were introduced in 1916 and 1925, although the governor's power remained extensive. In 1946, a new constitution was introduced that allowed for an unofficial member of the Legislative Council to become its president while the governor ceased to be the ex officio president of the body. This system continued until 1951 when the Legislature elected its first Speaker - Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist.
Legislative Assembly elections held in 1954 resulted in another CPP victory, with the party winning 71 out of a total of 104 seats. It also won 71 out of 104 seats in the 1956 Legislative Assembly election. The Gold Coast was renamed to Ghana and granted independence on Wednesday, 6 March 1957, while retaining the British monarch as head of state. The Legislative Assembly was renamed National Assembly.
After the approval of a new Republican constitution, Ghana officially became a republic on 1 July 1960 with Kwame Nkrumah as its President. The plebiscite was taken as a fresh mandate from the people and the terms of National Assembly members were extended for another five years. A one-party state was introduced following a referendum in 1964. As a result, only CPP candidates stood in the National Assembly Election held in 1965. Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966 by the military, which banned political parties and dissolved the National Assembly.
The country returned to civilian rule in 1969. Elections held on 29 August same year resulted in victory for the Progress Party (PP) of Kofi Abrefa Busia, which won 105 of the National Assembly's 140 seats. He took office as Prime Minister on 3 September 1969. His government was toppled in a 1972 military coup.
During the Third Republic, which lasted from 1979 to 1981, the dominant party in the National Assembly was the People's National Party (PNP), led by Hilla Limann, which won 71 out of 104 seats in elections held on 18 June 1979. After the military intervened in 1981, all elected institutions were dissolved and political party activity was prohibited.[citation needed]
All parties participated in the 1996 parliamentary elections. The NDC won 133 out of a total of 200 seats, while the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) won 60. Two smaller political party groups won the remaining seats.
The 2000 elections were significant in the sense that, President Rawlings was constitutionally barred from seeking another term. In the presidential poll, John Kufuor of the NPP defeated the NDC candidate John Atta Mills in a run-off election. In the 200-seat Parliament, the NPP won 100, followed by the NDC's 92. Smaller political party groups and independent candidates won the remaining seats.
The simple majority (or First Past the Post) voting system is used in Ghana's parliamentary elections. Since 2012, the country is divided into 275 single-member constituencies. Members serve four-year terms.
Leadership structure
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands after delivering a speech to the Ghanaian Parliament at the Parliament House in July 2009US Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivering a speech to the Ghanaian Parliament at the Parliament House in July 2019
Speaker - The Speaker presides over the Parliament and enforces observance of all rules that govern its conduct. After a general election, the majority party in Parliament in consultation with other parties nominates a Speaker.[6]
The Speaker cannot be a Member of Parliament though they must possess the qualifications to stand for elections as a Member of Parliament, such person on appointment as Speaker must resign and declare the seat occupied in Parliament as vacant. The Speaker is assisted by two Deputy Speakers (First and Second Deputy Speakers), who are elected at the commencement of every Parliament. They must come from different political parties. The current Speaker is Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin.[7]
First Deputy Speaker - The First Deputy Speaker presides over the sittings of Parliament whenever the Speaker is absent. The current First Deputy Speaker is Joseph Osei Owusu of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Second Deputy Speaker - The Second Deputy Speaker presides over the sittings of Parliament in the absence of the Speaker and the First Deputy Speaker. The current Second Deputy Speaker is Andrew Amoako Asiamah an independent candidate.
Majority Leader - The Majority Leader is appointed from the party with a majority of parliamentary seats. A deputy majority leader and a majority chief whip assist him, constituting the majority leadership of Parliament. The current Majority Leader is Alexander Afenyo-Markin of the NPP.
Deputy Majority Leader- A deputy majority leader and a chief whip assist him, constituting the Majority leadership of Parliament. The current Deputy Majority Leader is Patricia Appiagyei of the NPP.
Minority Leader - The Minority leader is elected from the second largest party in Parliament. A deputy minority leader and a chief whip assist him, constituting the minority leadership of Parliament. The current Minority Leader is Cassiel Ato Baah Forson of the NDC.
Deputy Minority Leader - A deputy minority leader and a chief whip assist him, constituting the minority leadership of Parliament. The current Deputy Minority Leader is James Klutse Avedzi of the NDC.
As at November 2020, the Parliament had fourteen Standing Committees and sixteen Select Committees. There was also one ad hoc committee.[2]
Standing Committees:
Appointments • Business • Committee of Selection • Finance • Gender and Children Government Assurance • House • Judiciary • Members Holding Offices of Profit • Privileges Public Accounts • Special Budget • Standing Orders • Subsidiary Legislation
Select Committees:
Communications • Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs • Defence and Interior • Education • Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises Environment, Science and Technology • Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs • Foreign Affairs • Health • Lands and Forestry • Local Government and Rural Development Mines and Energy • Roads and Transport • Standing Orders • Trade, Industry and Tourism • Works and Housing • Youth, Sports and Culture
Independent State within the Commonwealth (1957 – 1960) / First Republic (1960 – 1966)
Ghanaian Parliamentary Election Map, 2008
Map of Ghana's parliamentary constituencies as per MP's party affiliation as at 2008. NB: Where constituencies are too small to be shown (i.e. Accra and Tamale Metropolitan Areas) the majority party elected in the district is shown.
In the current Fourth Republic, the number of MPs first increased to 200 and subsequently to 275. There have been 8 parliaments so far in the Fourth Republic.[5] The list of its members are below.
Aaron Mike Oquaye is a Ghanaian barrister and politician who served as the sixth Speaker of Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana from 2017 to 2021. An academic, diplomat and Baptist minister, he previously held the cabinet ministerial portfolios for energy and communication and was also the High Commissioner of Ghana to India (2002–04) in the Kufuor administration.
Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay is a Ghanaian lawyer and a politician who served as a member of the Second, Third and Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, representing the Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region.He was National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party.
Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin is a Ghanaian politician who is the current Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana. He was the Minister for Health in the Ghana government from January 2012 until February 2013. He served as the Member of Parliament for Nadowli West constituency in the Upper West Region of Ghana in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th parliaments of the 4th republic of Ghana. He contested for the presidential candidate slot of the National Democratic Congress in 2019, but lost to former President John Dramani Mahama. On 7 January 2021, Bagbin was elected Speaker of 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
Parliamentary appointments were scheduled to be held in Ghana on 9 June 1965. As the country was a one-party state at the time, no parties except President Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP), were allowed to participate. The CPP's central committee nominated 198 candidates for the 198 seats in the National Assembly, who were then declared elected without a vote taking place.
Honourable Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah is a Ghanaian politician and former chairperson of the Convention People's Party (CPP) making her the first woman to ever head a major political party in Ghana. In the 2008 parliamentary election, she won the Jomoro constituency seat on her first attempt. She is the daughter of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.
Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka is the Member of Parliament for Asawase in the Ashanti Region of Ghana of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and the 8th parliaments of the 4th Republic of Ghana and his nightmare is Young boy Manaf. He was the Minority Chief Whip in the Parliament of Ghana.
Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is a Ghanaian urban planner and politician. He was the majority leader in the Ghanaian Parliament until he stepped down on 21 February 2024 and is the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in Ghana. He is the longest serving lawmaker in Ghana.
Imoro Yakubu Kakpagu is a Ghanaian politician and a former member of the Parliament of Ghana for the Kumbungu constituency in the Northern Region of Ghana from 2005 to 2013. He is a member of the National Democratic Congress.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Ghana. The current speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, was sworn-in as Speaker of the Eight Parliament of Ghana on 7 January 2021.
Eric Opoku is a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament and 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Asunafo South Constituency in the Brong-Ahafo Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress.
Jambaidu Awuni was a Ghanaian politician in the first republic. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly representing the Northern territories on the ticket of the Northern People's Party (NPP) from 1951 to 1954. He was re-elected into the legislative in 1956 to represent the Kusasi Central constituency from 1956 until 1965.
Michael Nyuanu Teye was a member of the Second, Third and Fourth parliament of the Fourth Republic for the Lower Manya constituency in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He is also known as MTN.
Habib Iddrisu is a Ghanaian politician who is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He is the member of parliament for the Tolon Constituency in the Northern Region of Ghana.
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