Assessing the Quality of Parliamentary Representation in Ghana

Abstract

It is a truism that the practice of democracy in its classical form as occurred in ancient Athenian Greek is no longer possible in the modern state. Selecting leaders to represent the interests of the citizenry, particularly in the legislative arm of government is a crucial replacement of the Athenian-styled democracy. However, the quality of representation in many African democracies, including Ghana, is poor as legislators are unable to act in a manner that promotes the interests of their constituents. Indeed, findings of this study points to the fact that even though parliamentarians in Ghana visit their constituents regularly, there is no deliberate effort to dialogue and interact with their constituents on matters directly affecting them. The study concludes that the quality of representation in Ghana is undermined as there is inadequate connection between the interests of constituents and the decisions taken on their behalf by their legislators.

Keywords: Parliament, Quality, Representation, Interest, Constituents

Associate Professor, University of Ghana