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National Secretary of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP,) Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, has taken a swipe at the leadership of Parliament for refusing to invite the party to yesterday’s State of Nation Address.

According to the statement, the party could not understand why Parliament failed to invite them to this year’s State of the Nation Address.

The PPP made this observation in a statement issued yesterday in Accra and signed by Mr. Asamoah-Siaw.

Buttressing their stance, the party explained that the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which makes the State of Nation Address mandatory requires that stakeholders in the country, including [political parties like the PPP,] should be part.

“The President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before the dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation,” he quoted article 67 of the 1992 Constitution.

To this end, the clerk of Parliament invited institutions including some political parties for yesterday’s s event.

It was on this note that the PPP felt very affronted that at this year’s State of the Nation Address, Parliament failed to invite PPP to participate in the programme.

According to the PPP, official invitation was not sent to party under the pretext that the PPP had no representation in Parliament.

“The decision by the Parliament House of Ghana not to invite the leadership of the PPP to the State of the Nation Address yesterday is very disappointing and discriminatory.

…the House which is constitutionally mandated to make laws for this country should not be the one undermining the laws on discrimination,” it said.

This introduction of unconstitutional elements by government, state or public institutions to discriminate, the PPP noted, must cease.

“What kind of a nation are we trying to build if state institutions who must lead the course of inclusiveness are the ones introducing discrimination in the discharge of their duties,” it said.

“The role of the Progressive People’s Party in sustaining the multi-party democratic process in Ghana cannot be exaggerated. We call on all Ghanaians not to allow our multi-party democracy to be characterized by unfriendliness, political exclusion and favouritism. Ghana is not a two party-state,” the PPP added.

The PPP in the statement asserted  that the Parliament should at all times ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the democratic process and not give priority to only political parties with representation in Parliament.

“It is the people of Ghana who decide which parties go to Parliament and the fact that a political party duly registered is not in parliament does not take away its rights and privileges,” the statement said.

The PPP warned that any attempt by Parliament to prevent the forward march and the rising star of the party by these subtle political machinations will be resisted by all progressive forces in Ghana.