Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica) has described Ghana’s 9th Parliament as the worst-performing legislature in the Fourth Republic when it comes to public participation in the lawmaking process.
The assessment is contained in PNAfrica’s Output Analysis Report released after Parliament marked 500 days of legislative work on May 22, 2026. The report examined the performance of the House during its first session and identified several strengths and shortcomings.
According to the parliamentary monitoring organisation, memoranda from the public were invited for less than 15 per cent of all bills passed by Parliament during the period under review.
PNAfrica said the figure places the current Parliament at the bottom of the league table for public involvement in lawmaking, raising concerns about citizen engagement in the legislative process.
The report noted that Parliament passed 49 bills within its first 500 days, with 34 of them, representing 69.39 per cent, approved under certificates of urgency.
While acknowledging Parliament’s legislative output, PNAfrica argued that limited public consultation on bills weakens democratic participation and reduces opportunities for citizens and stakeholders to contribute to legislation before its passage.
Beyond public participation, the report highlighted concerns over the performance of parliamentary committees. It revealed that although approximately 350 committee meetings were held, including oversight visits and regular sittings, some committees recorded low output, with 295 referrals yet to be reported on.
The report also found that Parliament held 155 plenary sittings and spent more than 717 hours conducting chamber business. Attendance averaged 227 Members of Parliament per sitting day, representing 82.25 per cent of the House.
PNAfrica further observed that although the 9th Parliament is the most youthful and has the highest number of women in Ghana’s parliamentary history, it has fallen short of several targets under the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024, particularly in leadership positions.
The organisation called on Parliament to improve public participation in lawmaking, strengthen committee performance, promote gender inclusion, and address lingering accountability issues, including the unresolved report on the disturbances that occurred during the Appointments Committee vetting process in January 2025.
