Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, president of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), has urged Commonwealth legislators to respect democratic principles and the Commonwealth's values.
As CPA members, he claimed that they are united by a set of beliefs and principles that are stated in the Charter.
"Let's encourage ourselves to endeavor to restore dignity to elected offices and to rebuild trust and confidence in democratic processes and institutions," Speaker Bagbin said in his speech at the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference's ceremonial inauguration in Accra.
180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures from across the world collaborate through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to reinforce the Commonwealth's commitment to the highest principles of democratic government.
President Akufo-Addo officially began the week-long conference, which has as its topic "The Commonwealth Charter 10 years on: Values and Principles for Parliaments to Uphold."
The Commonwealth Charter, which summarizes the ideals and principles of the Commonwealth, will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2023.
According to Speaker Bagbin, while developed country parliaments may have successfully achieved adequate separation of powers, for some parliaments it still remains a mirage. "Yet, democracy will remain elusive if we are not deliberate in our efforts to ensure the independence of parliaments," he declared.
Speaker Bagbin quoted the Fourth President of the United States, James Madison, who said: "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
In order to enhance parliaments, according to Speaker Bagbin, oversight committees should be given the authority to thoroughly examine government initiatives, spending plans, and policies.
He emphasized that civic education programs that enlighten citizens about their rights and the need to defend parliamentary democracy could improve parliament, adding that in fact, parliaments must take use of the positive relationships they have.
to promote citizen involvement in the functioning of the legislature and to highlight violations of democratic values, together with civil society and the media.
The Speaker stated that Ghanaians felt a sense of satisfaction after hosting the 66th edition of the CPA when speaking about parliamentary democracy in sub-Saharan Africa.
He claimed that the parliamentary democracy they had been experimenting with was now an integral part of their system of government.
Speaker Bagbin declared, "This year, we celebrate 30 years of stable parliamentary democracy."
In a subregion that has recently gained a reputation for turning around and going backward on its democratic journey, ours is a stable democracy.
As a result of the recent wave of military invasions into administration, he claimed that parliaments in the West African area and Africa as a whole must work to comprehend the causes of the decline in confidence in the ability of democratic institutions and procedures to lead.
If there are any signals, "we should be able to pick them up and steer our democracies away from such incidents."
high levels of transaction between candidates and voters, using immediate satisfaction as the unit of exchange," he stated.
Speaker Bagbin stated that this just served to intensify the cycle of mistrust that was causing the sub-region's citizens to be dissatisfied with political leadership and institutions.
In his remarks of welcome, the Vice-Chairman of the CPA's Executive Committee and Majority Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu, stated that the CPA represented the unwavering efforts of a group of parliamentarians bound by a common history and destiny to address pressing issues facing today's parliaments in order to promote democracy, good governance, and the dividends of democracy, which were development of and for their people.
The CPA, according to Mr. Stephen Twigg, Secretary-General, aimed to empower and implement theHe claimed that the Commonwealth's Parliaments had found the Charter to be a potent tool for helping them improve procedures and spread the best aspects of democracy. The Charter, he claimed, recommended standards for democratic legislation inside the Commonwealth.
The CPA stood for parliamentary democracy and to reinforce what they believed in, according to Mr. Ian Liddel-Grainger, MP for the UK's House of Commons and Chair of the CPA Executive Committee.
