Parliament must act tough on Members of Parliaments (MPs) who have splashed pictures of their votes in public; Dr. Bonsu Osei Owusu has called for.
Dr. Bonsu Osei Owusu who lectures at the Valley View University stated on the Wontumi Morning Show that as lawmakers the MPs, were not supposed to reveal their votes to the public and must face the music for going against the rules.
“They are law makers and expected to do better. If the ordinary person goes out to vote during the national elections and reveals it, would they (MPs) be bold to call for the person to be punished?” he asked.
Alliance for Footsoldiers Advocacy (AFFA), a group which identifies with the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to start disciplinary actions against some MPs who took pictures and videos of their ballots during a recent voting process.
“I write on behalf of the Alliance For Footsoldiers Advocacy (AFFA), — a public interest group, to respectfully draw your attention to the abuse of privileges, and flagrant violation of the 1992 Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament by some Members of Parliament (MPs).
“We have discovered that during voting on the floor of Parliament on Friday, 24th. March 2023, in respect of President Akufo-Addo’s ministerial nominees, some MPs from the Minority side of the House, as against the norm, took their phones to the polling booth, where they brazenly took pictures and videos of their votes, contrary to Article 49(1) of the 1992 constitution and Order 109 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
“They include: Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, MP Tamale Central; Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, MP Ketu South; Hon. Zenator Agyemang Rawlings, MP Korle Klottey,” the group said in the petition signed by its Executive Secretary, D. T. Adomako.