The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed deep concern over the significant number of incumbent MPs who lost their seats in both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries.

In the recent NPP primaries held last January, 27, a good number of sitting MPs (28) were defeated, while the NDC primaries last year witnessed 17 MPs losing their candidacy bids.

Additionally, preceding the NPP primaries, 19 incumbent MPs opted not to seek re-election, with five NDC MPs making similar decisions last year.

Mr Bagbin emphasised that the departure of the numerous MPs represents a substantial loss of investment in these legislators, which is detrimental to the nation.

Delivering his welcome address to MPs in the house, the Speaker noted that this is not a good signal for legislation for Ghana's democratic development. 

“Experience, as we all know, counts in this house, but the endorsement of your party to contest is equally important. Honourable members, the haemorrhage and cost to the nation is however, a matter of great concern worth considering by all stakeholders.”

“Honourable members, the primaries are part of the process for the electorate to determine who represents them in parliament. However, the case of voluntary discontinuance of 5 and 19 followed by this election of 17 and 28 is not a good signal for the legislation and for Ghana's democratic development,” he noted.

He urged political parties to address this issue internally, emphasising the impact of losing experienced MPs after a single term in office.

Read also: NPP parliamentary primaries: Full list of incumbent MPs who lost

"I want to appeal to the political parties to take this matter up seriously because the investment that is made in an individual MP is so huge for the nation just to always go waste after every four years," said the Speaker.

Meanwhile, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is also appealing to political parties to review their internal election mechanisms to protect some sitting MPs.

He believes that the process and procedures employed by parties in the selection of candidates affect the efficiency and effectiveness of parliament in the conduct of its business. He added that “This ultimately impacts the growth of apartment and democracy of the country.”