Only people with bad intentions support secret ballot – Sammy Gyamfi

The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has called for an amendment to the current process of secret ballot in Parliament, claiming it is hurting the country’s democracy.

According to him, many stakeholders including legal brains have also demanded a scrapping of this system of decision-making in the country’s legislature.

“Only people who intend on doing mischief in Parliament [and] intend on taking bad decisions, decisions which do not reflect the will, wishes and aspirations of their people will be in support of the current system of secret ballot,” he said in an interview with Alfred Ocansey on TV3‘s Ghana Tonight on Wednesday, March 29.

This comes in the wake of the approval of six ministerial nominees by Parliament despite a firm decision by members (MPs) of his party to reject them.

The largest opposition party had issued a directive to all its 136 MPs to vote against the ministerial nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The intention is to stop him from increasing or, even, maintaining the current size of government as a result of the prevailing economic hardship.

National Chairman of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketia was in the public gallery in Parliament on Thursday and Friday, March 24 when the debate and voting were done ostensibly to whip the Minority in line.

Sammy Gyamfi pointed out that until the amendment some of them are seeking is made, MPs on both sides must uphold national interest above parochial interest.

“That is what the people of this country are yearning for. And I think that is what members of Parliament not only on the NDC side but on the NPP side should do.

“On any matter that you are called upon to vote, ask yourself what is the national interest.”