Series of videos circulating on the internet have shown parliament members in Ghana exchanging blows on Thursday, January 7.
Chaotic scenes erupted after a ruling party deputy tried to seize the ballot box during the vote for parliament speaker.
In the footages, members of the Minority wearing white stormed the chamber seeking to occupy the majority side of the House in furtherance of their claim of winning the Majority.
In another video, New Patriotic Party, member of parliament-elect for Tema West, Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah was seen snatching ballots from the chamber and running away with it.
The incident happened over the close number of members between the two parties in the senate – while NPP has the majority in parliament with 137 seats; the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has 136 seats.
The speaker was to be elected by secret ballot, but MPs from the ruling NPP party kept displaying their marked ballot papers, to the displeasure of opposition MPs.
At some point, a ruling party MP snatched the ballot papers while voting was still underway, sparking a confrontation.
Soldiers were eventually sent in to restore order in the parliament.
Watch some of the viral videos below;
Hello Ghana, i present to you….our Leaders. enjoy pic.twitter.com/wjNzbmAhno
— (@yvonnenelsongh) January 7, 2021
Today is a sad day for Democracy. This is our beloved Ghana, the beacon of Democracy for much of Africa. This is reminiscent of Orubebe, Agege and the Melaye days of the House of representatives. 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/o6qvPktvy1
— Kelvin Odanz (@MrOdanz) January 7, 2021
Ghana , which way? Looks like the seats in the house is not enough cos why the fight.
That escalated real quick sha 👀 pic.twitter.com/WTTFPEXzzX
— Naija (@Naija_PR) January 7, 2021
