The Minority in Parliament staged a walkout on Thursday, July 16, during consideration of the Tribunals Bill, 2026, accusing the Majority of using its numerical advantage to force the legislation through despite objections from organised labour, legal stakeholders and recommendations from the constitutional review process.
Led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Members of Parliament from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus left the chamber before proceedings continued with the passage of the bill.
Addressing journalists after the walkout, Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that the proposed tribunal system could undermine principles of due process and fair trial.
“This whole exercise is to create a system where people would be pronounced guilty even before their case is properly determined.
There is no established procedure of ensuring fairness, and it is not only the Minority that is complaining,” he said.
The Minority Leader maintained that opposition to the bill extended beyond Parliament, claiming organised labour and other stakeholders had publicly expressed reservations about the reintroduction of tribunals.
“Today, organised labour has come out loudly to re-echo its position on this matter that we do not need a tribunal system in our country anymore,” he stated.
Mr Afenyo-Markin also referenced Ghana’s experience with tribunals during the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era, warning against a return to a system that, in his view, had previously been abused for political purposes.
“We know what happened during the PNDC era where people were targeted, assets were seized and those who claimed they were tribunal members enriched themselves.
We know that history,” he said.
According to him, the Minority decided to abandon proceedings after concluding that further debate would not alter the outcome because the Majority had already resolved to pass the bill.
“In Parliament, we believe that in all situations of disagreement there must be room for discussion and consensus-building.
But once the Majority Leader makes it clear that they will rely solely on their numbers to pass the bill, there is no point continuing the debate,” he argued.
The Minority Leader further alleged that the Majority initially lacked the numbers required to proceed and had requested a suspension of proceedings to mobilise members before the House resumed sitting.
“You recall that earlier in the day when we raised this issue, the Majority Leader realised that he did not have the numbers and immediately called for a suspension of the House,” he claimed.
Mr Afenyo-Markin alleged that even after the House reconvened, the Majority still fell short of the numbers it claimed to have assembled.
“We counted them and they were not up to the number being claimed. The media can verify the figures independently,” he said.
