Mr Alexander Ebenezer Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business on Monday congratulated President-elect John Dramani Mahama on his election.
The Majority Leader gave the commendation in his welcome remarks at the opening of the Seventh Meeting of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
He lauded Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate in the December 7 polls for doing something very unprecedented, by conceding to President-elect Mahama before the Electoral Commission (EC) came to make a declaration of the election results.
“We’ve never witnessed it in the history of our politics before. Relying on his own internal coalition, at 9:00am on Sunday, he publicly acknowledged the outcome of the elections, conceded, and congratulated the president-elect, who was yet to be officially declared by the Electoral Commission,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
“Mr Speaker, such a move by him was very historic and commendable. Today, we are here because of that singular action. Today, we are here because all of us collectively acknowledge that all we have is our democracy.’
Mr Afenyo-Markin said it was an established constitutional custom that once in every four years, the people of this country were given the opportunity to elect their leaders – a President and Parliamentarians, the people’s representatives.
He said on the 7th of December, this mandate was rightfully exercised by the people of Ghana, which they did so peacefully, without fear.
He said the people had elected a President and Members of Parliament; saying, “it is without doubt that our friends in the NDC (National Democratic Congress) have emerged victorious, and I take this opportunity to congratulate the leader of the minority side and his team for such an unprecedented feat”.
Taking the House through memory lane, Mr Afenyo-Markin said in 1997, after the 1996 elections, the NDC received an overwhelming victory, and the NPP had only 61 in the 200-member Chamber.
He said he was happy to see that supposed NPP Minority at that time emerged victorious in just four years because of hard work to turn the Minority into a Majority, when it came to the 2000 elections.
He said again in 2012, the NPP suffered another defeat, and the NDC had a Majority, however, in 2016, another historic feat was achieved by the NPP, where they had an overwhelming majority in this chamber of 169 seats.
“In less than four years, we started going back, and by the time the people exercised their mandate again, the 169 had reduced into 137, plus our independent who co-caused with us, and we made it to 138.”
He said in the just ended December 7, 2024, polls, the NDC had an overwhelming Majority, but that Majority would start reducing from the 8th of January, and that he knows that come 2028, the NPP would be in the Majority.
GNA
LAA
December 16, 2024
