The 3rd Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Community Parliament and Ghana’s Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has reclaimed his seat in the Sixth Community Parliament following mediation efforts led by the Chair of the Political Affairs Committee, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr. of Liberia.
Addressing the Second Extraordinary Session of the 2025 ECOWAS Parliament in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Mr. Afenyo-Markin acknowledged the tensions that arose between Ghana’s Parliament and the ECOWAS Parliament over his initial exclusion from Ghana’s delegation.
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He praised Senator Snowe Jr., who, working with Ghana’s Majority Leader and members of the Bureau, helped bridge differences and secure consensus.
“We’ve had one distinguished member here who is from Liberia, Hon. Snowe, who has been working between the Parliament of Ghana, the Majority Leader, and some members of the Bureau to resolve this matter. I am happy to say that the conclusion of all discussions has been to bring a resolution to this matter,” he stated.
ECOWAS Parliament
Recalling a similar impasse in 2017, when Ghana’s delegation exceeded its numerical limit, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said he voluntarily stepped aside then to preserve the integrity of the process. He stressed that his actions in both situations were guided by principle, not personal ambition.
Under the latest agreement, the three current members of Ghana’s delegation—Hon. Laadi Ayii Ayamba (Pusiga), Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah (Ho West), and Mr. Afenyo-Markin himself (Effutu)—will continue to serve their mandate until the end of the current Parliament in 2028. Ghana’s Parliament is expected to take the necessary steps when it reconvenes in October to finalize the arrangements and ensure clarity.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed Ghanaian members of the recomposed delegation were officially sworn in during the session.
“This is not a victor’s justice, but justice for democracy. It is a matter for institutional principle, not individual interest. We have been able to resolve this matter, and I have no objection,”* Afenyo-Markin declared.
He added that the resolution clears the path for Ghana to present a fully settled eight-member delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.