Three Members of Ghana’s Parliament have been sworn in as members of Ghana’s delegation to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), marking the country’s renewed commitment to continental legislative dialogue and integration.

Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor; Member of Parliament for Klottey-Korle, Dr Zanator Agyeman Rawlings; and Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adiagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who doubles as Minority Chief Whip, were officially sworn in on Wednesday, July 30th, when they took the oath of office during the fifth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament held in Midrand, South Africa.

PAP President Chief Fortune Charumbira and all protocols of the continental body presided over the swearing-in ceremony. The delegation were accompanied by Inusah Mohammed and Edith Adjei as Schedule and Assistant Schedule Officers respectively. The MPs will now join their counterparts from across the African Union (AU).

On the sidelines of the ongoing 5th Ordinary Session of the 6th Parliament, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Afrobarometer, the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI), and the Southern Africa Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (SAPNAC). The agreements were formalised on 29 July 2025. The agreement with NANHRI seeks to integrate human rights considerations into legislative processes, establish joint governance monitoring frameworks, and promote a culture of constitutionalism and the rule of law.

PAP has also pledged its full support for the ratification and domestication of the African Union (AU) Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. The treaty adopted by the AU Assembly in February 2025, has been hailed as a turning point in the continent’s decades-long struggle to end gender-based violence.

The Women’s Caucus also announced plans to develop a Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity aimed at harmonising legislative responses and eliminating all forms of gender-based violence, including political and online abuse.

The Pan-African Parliament was established in March 2004, by Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, as one of the nine Organs provided for in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community signed in Abuja, Nigeria, in 1991. The Protocol establishing the PAP was ratified by 49 Member States.

The total number of Members of the PAP is 275. Article 4 of the Protocol establishing the PAP requires that each national Parliament be represented by five members, at least one of whom must be a woman. The representation of each member state must reflect the diversity of political opinions in each National Parliament or deliberative organ. According to Article 5 of the same Protocol, the Pan African Parliamentarians are elected or designated by the national Parliaments of the Member States.

The establishment of the Pan-African Parliament is informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.

The seat of the Parliament is in Midrand, South Africa. The Pan-African Parliamentarians represent all the peoples of Africa. The aim of the Pan-African Parliament is to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage.

Meanwhile, Parliament has voted out Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin from Ghana’s delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament. The Minority Caucus initially nominated Afenyo-Markin to represent them in the ECOWAS Parliament when they submitted their proposed delegation list for parliamentary approval ahead of the plenary session yesterday, Tuesday, July 22.

During a debate on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 22, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, proposed that Afenyo-Markin be replaced by his deputy, who also doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Asokwa Constituency, Patricia Appiagyei. This, he proposed, was based on the regional, political, and economic union founded on May 28, 1975, through the Treaty of Lagos’ gender quota ECOWAS gender quotas.

He said, “This decision aligns with long-standing parliamentary practice, which assigns ECOWAS parliamentary roles to Deputy Leaders of the House. It is not unusual, and it is certainly not a slight to any member.”

ECOWAS Gender Quotas aim to promote inclusive representation of women in governance and decision-making across West Africa. While not yet codified in a binding treaty, the ECOWAS Parliament and its Gender Development Centre (EGDC) have adopted a 30% minimum quota for female representation in national delegations to ECOWAS institutions, parliamentary committees and leadership roles, as well as Cabinet positions and public service appointments.

Afenyo-Markin’s replacement was met with fierce objection from the former Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul. He contended that, though the decision is for Parliament to make, it is just a way for the Majority Caucus to force their decision on them, as it holds the numbers in the House.

“I know it is the decision of the House to do it, but it is not for Parliament, because the Majority has the majority, to force the decision of the Majority on the Minority about representation,” he said.

Afenyo-Markin is currently the Third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament. However, his position is quite uncommon for the leaders of the respective caucuses (Minority, Majority) to be part of the country's official delegation sent to the ECOWAS Parliament or the Pan-African Parliament.

They are rather led by the Deputy Majority and Deputy Minority Leaders. The new delegation is being constituted as part of preparations to travel to Abuja, Nigeria, to participate in preparatory meetings and committee engagements ahead of the Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, expected later in October or November 2025.

However, Patricia Appiagyei has formally declined her inclusion in Ghana’s reconstituted delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament. Madam Appiagyei, in a memorandum addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, noted that "there was an understanding by leadership that the Minority Leader would be on the ECOWAS Parliament delegation, as was communicated to the Committee of Selection," hence “it is therefore deeply troubling that a contrary nomination was advanced on the floor without consultation.”

According to her, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who was elected last year, retains a valid and ongoing mandate under ECOWAS protocols, which grant members a four-year term. “A sitting member cannot be removed unless the member voluntarily resigns, is removed from office, appointed to the Executive or as a Judge, or otherwise becomes ineligible,” she added.

ECOWAS is a regional political and economic union set up on May 28, 1975, through the Treaty of Lagos. The purpose of the regional bloc was to promote economic integration, peace, and development among West African countries. Currently, the bloc has 12 active member states, including Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Guinea. Although Guinea remains suspended due to a military coup in 2021, it has not formally withdrawn from the bloc.

However, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in January 2025 withdrew from the bloc. The three military-led countries released a joint statement accusing ECOWAS of betraying its founding principles and becoming a threat to member states and their populations.