The Minority walked out of Parliament twice in 24 hours in July, a monitoring report by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has shown.
The report calls those walkouts the most dramatic moments of the Second Meeting of the Second Session, which ran from May 21 to July 31, 2026.
Two days, two exits
On July 15, the Minority walked out over what it called the First Deputy Speaker's use of the Standing Orders to obstruct members.
The next day, it left during consideration of the Tribunals Bill, 2026, after a heated debate on Clause 4.
Members argued the clause would create a parallel judicial system not envisioned by the 1992 Constitution.
The House still passed the bill, one of 12 passed in the meeting.
The ACEPA data suggests the confrontations are only part of the story.
Tempers flared over procedure and transparency, including a four-hour overnight suspension and a closed-door Bank of Ghana briefing the Minority called a cover-up. Meanwhile, attendance and ministerial accountability weakened.
Fresh walkout
The pattern has continued.
The Minority has again left the Chamber, this time in solidarity with the Damongo MP, Samuel Abu Jinapor, whom Speaker Alban Bagbin ordered out.
This followed his allegation, which he did not immediately withdraw, that diplomatic passports were being sold for between $10,000 and $50,000.
The latest walkout was last Tuesday (November 3, 2026) when the House resumed.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin called the Speaker's action "harsh, high-handed and mostly unfair".
Attendance slips
During the period under review, MPs attended an average of 29 of 37 sittings or 78.08 per cent.
Attendance fell from 80.70 per cent in the 1st Meeting to 78.12 per cent, while absenteeism rose from 14.10 to 16.67 per cent. Seventeen MPs or 6.5 per cent of the 276 members, recorded more than 15 unauthorised absences, contrary to Standing Order 16(1).
Only 10 of the 23 ministers programmed to answer questions appeared, though 168 of 173 programmed questions were answered.
Is a walkout provided for in law?
Not expressly.
The 1992 Constitution does not mention walkouts, neither granting nor forbidding them.
Article 110 lets Parliament regulate its own procedure through Standing Orders and those rules do not set out a walkout as a recognised procedure either.
The walkout is better understood as a parliamentary convention, a protest tactic that has become part of the country’s political practice.
Its legitimacy rests on the freedom of members to register dissent, but its limits are real.
Business can proceed once the quorum is met and Article 102 requires only one-third of members, excluding the Speaker.
A walkout,therefore, carries symbolic weight, not legal force.
Persistent absence is a different matter. Standing Order 16(1) and the Constitution's provisions on attendance expect MPs to be present, so prolonged boycotts could invite sanction.
The bigger picture
With the Constitution (Amendment), Parliament (Transition) and Property Rights of Spouses Bills still pending, both sides face pressure to show the House can work.
