Hon. Fredrick Opare-Ansah argues that the ECOWAS Commission is in a better position to prepare the necessary framework that will lead to the actualisation of direct elections into ECOWAS Parliament
A former member of the Ghanaian Parliament and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Hon. Fredrick Opare-Ansah, has hailed the ECOWAS Commission for the crucial role it has played in sustainability, stability and development in the past forty-eight (48) years of its existence.
He noted that the Commission is in a better position to prepare the necessary framework that will lead to the actualisation of direct elections into ECOWAS Parliament, as the Authority of Heads of States and Governments, which comes and go have a one or two-year tenure, would not have enough time for the process to be actualised.
Hon. Opare-Ansah, who spoke in an interview with the press, noted that the decision could take longer than the tenure of a Chair of the Authority of Heads of States, stressing that even if he does two terms, it will still take longer than that to achieve that goal. The former lawmaker, therefore, urged the ECOWAS Parliament to drive the process alongside the leadership of the Commission for a successful outcome.
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“That is where the process has to be driven from; I believe that if they do go through all the motions for preparing for such a thing, whoever becomes Chair of the Authority of Heads of States and Government would see reason in granting this particular thing,” he further explained.
On whether enhancing the powers of the legislature will not subject the commission to undue scrutiny, the former lawmaker said, “They would have to be accountable.”
“So, whether you do it now or not, this audit will happen someday. Someone can always commission an audit to be done to events of twenty years ago to look at what happen and so it’s an inevitable eventuality. It is better now so that it helps the institution and the entire community to go forward at a faster rate,” he concluded.
