BY VALENTIA TETTEH
Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has appealed to the Majority Caucus in Parliament to allow more space for minority participation and legislative advocacy as the House resumes sitting on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
The appeal was made during a leadership media briefing ahead of Parliament’s resumption, where Mr. Afenyo-Markin underscored the need for inclusivity and fairness in parliamentary proceedings.
According to him, the Minority expects the Majority to be more accommodating and receptive to its motions and contributions on the floor of the House.
“We hold the view that in this meeting, the Majority should be more accommodating. They must hear us and allow the Minority to do more advocacy. We expect the Speaker to admit more of our motions,” he stated.
The Minority Leader expressed concern over what he described as frustrations that characterised much of the previous parliamentary session, citing frequent rejection of motions and limited opportunities for engagement.
He noted that in some instances, motions submitted by the Minority were declined at late hours, sometimes at the eleventh hour, which he said restricted the Minority’s ability to contribute meaningfully to parliamentary debate.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin also referenced challenges faced during ministerial vetting processes, where procedural tactics were employed to limit the Minority’s interventions. While acknowledging that such manoeuvres are part of parliamentary politics, he stressed the need for a more balanced approach.
“The essence of parliamentary politics is to give every party stakeholder the opportunity to be heard. We look forward to much more engagement on the floor,” he added.
The Minority Leader rejected claims that the Minority had been obstructive in the past, insisting that the caucus has largely been cooperative in the interest of governance.
He cited the swift approval of ministerial nominees in the previous session as evidence of the Minority’s commitment to consensus-building, noting that only a few nominees were subjected to voting, while the majority were approved by consensus.
“We took a deliberate decision to ensure the government had the ministers it needed to function effectively. That led to record-time approvals, something unprecedented in the Fourth Republic,” he said.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin expressed optimism that the new parliamentary session would foster greater collaboration, inclusiveness, and constructive engagement among all sides of the House.
