Ghana's Parliament was once again on full display for all the wrong reasons, and the scenes from last night were not just embarrassing - they were dangerous. What should have been a moment of measured vetting, scrutiny, and deliberation befitting a democratic institution instead devolved into a battlefield of chaos, leaving citizens to wonder: Are these truly our lawmakers?. The recent scuffles, verbal altercations, and outright destruction of parliamentary property paint an unflattering picture of those elected to represent the people. Alas, these are our lawmakers.
And as they overturned furniture and destroyed microphones, they laid bare a troubling reality: One of Africa's most stable democracies is watching its legislative branch descend into chaos.
The immediate spark was deceptively mundane: a procedural dispute over extending ministerial vetting sessions past 10 PM for Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Kwabena Mintah Akandoh. But the ensuing melee - which saw members of Parliament destroying microphones, police intervening on the chamber floor, and physical confrontations erupting like wildfire - speaks to a deeper institutional crisis that threatens to undermine Ghana's democratic foundations. It was an unthinkable development for an institution that prides itself on democratic governance.
Parliament has seen an increasingly growing pattern of disorder Parliament is meant to be the heart of Ghana's democracy-a sacred space where laws are crafted with wisdom, national issues are debated with intellectual rigour, and the executive branch is held accountable through robust oversight. Increasingly, it is becoming an arena for political showmanship, crude displays of power, and moments of national embarrassment.
