Former United Nations Senior Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has expressed the desire that the winner of Saturday's presidential election should ideally secure a majority in parliament to ensure smoother governance, rather than a hung parliament.

Professor Agyeman-Duah explained that while he is all for a parliament able to hold the executive to account, a parliamentary majority would help streamline government operations.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Election Morning on December 7, he stressed that such a majority should not simply serve as a tool for the executive’s agenda, highlighting that past experiences have shown this can be detrimental.

“The parliament must play its role in cross-checking the executive,” Prof Agyeman-Duah clarified, adding that “but having a majority helps. Hopefully, the majority that emerges will not be a mere instrument for the executive to do its bidding.”

He also pointed to the “winner-takes-all” system as a significant issue. According to the professor, this system empowers the opposition, as they are driven to challenge the executive to secure future victories. This, he argued, can fuel intense rivalry, with some even resorting to falsehoods to undermine the ruling party.

“In my opinion, the winner-takes-all system contributes to the intense rivalry,” he said. “People sometimes tell lies to create impressions that weaken the incumbent party.”

Despite acknowledging the competitive nature of politics, Agyeman-Duah urged Ghanaians to elect a more productive parliament. “Let’s hope that Ghanaians will be decisive in electing a more productive parliament than we have seen,” he said.

Ghana's current parliament, a hung parliament, has been one of the most dramatic, witnessing acrimonious exchanges between the New Patriotic Party majority and the National Democratic Congress minority, and sometimes involving the Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin.