Parliament’s presentation of the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review was briefly overshadowed on Thursday, July 24, as the Minority Caucus staged a dramatic walkout in protest of what they described as state-sanctioned electoral violence during the recent parliamentary rerun in Ablekuma North.
The boycott, led by Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh, was framed as a moral stand against what the opposition calls a growing threat to Ghana’s democratic fabric.
Before exiting the chamber, Annoh-Dompreh delivered a firm but respectful statement, pointing to the rerun’s alleged incidents of voter intimidation, violence, and the abuse of state security resources.
“Increasingly, electoral violence is rearing its ugly head in our fledgling democracy,” he said. “The recent rerun in 19 polling stations in Ablekuma North is clearly revealing.”
The Minority maintained that remaining in the chamber would amount to complicity in what they describe as an erosion of electoral integrity. “We cannot in good conscience participate in today’s proceedings while such acts go unaddressed,” Annoh-Dompreh added.
Their exit was met with open derision from members of the Majority, who jeered and hooted at the departing MPs, accusing them of politicising budget proceedings for partisan gain.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin acknowledged the need for a national conversation on electoral violence but ruled that the budget session was not the appropriate forum for such a discussion.
Despite this, the Minority remained resolute. “We have lined up a number of activities to back our demands,” Annoh-Dompreh noted. “And to the extent that these acts of violence are not addressed… we cannot be part of this.”
The walkout adds a new layer of political tension to a session already charged with economic debate, and it underscores rising anxiety over electoral credibility ahead of Ghana’s 2024 general elections.
