The Parliament of Ghana has introduced a biometric attendance system to record the presence of Members of Parliament (MPs) at sittings, Speaker Alban Bagbin announced at the opening of the Third Meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament. This new measure aims to provide accurate, reliable, and verifiable records of members' attendance. The traditional register will no longer be circulated for members to sign; instead, MPs will register their presence through designated biometric consoles.
As of now, 258 MPs have already enrolled in the biometric attendance system, and the Speaker has urged those who have not completed the process to do so without delay. Members who fail to enrol risk being marked absent without permission. The introduction of biometric registration is part of administrative and technological upgrades to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and accountability of parliamentary proceedings.
The Speaker has directed parliamentary whips to formalise the allocation of seats and ensure that every MP is assigned a designated seat by the end of the week. This arrangement is necessary for the effective implementation of the electronic attendance system, as members' attendance and other records will be linked to their assigned seats. MPs are cautioned against occupying seats assigned to their colleagues.
Members who sit in the wrong places might not have their activities properly recorded, and the microphones will be linked to the designated seating arrangement. An MP who occupies another member's seat might not be able to speak through the system. The Speaker has warned that he might intervene to allocate seats if the whips fail to complete the exercise.
The biometric attendance system is part of a broader digital transformation programme for the eight-week parliamentary meeting. One of the planned reforms is the piloting of an electronic voting system to speed up decision-making, improve voting efficiency, and reduce errors associated with manual counting.
The Speaker acknowledged that some MPs, particularly those unfamiliar with computers, might be apprehensive about the changes but assured them that the systems are user-friendly and that technical support will be provided. He also directed the Clerk to Parliament to engage the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, the National Communications Authority, and technical consultants to develop a plan for the effective and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in parliamentary business.
The Speaker emphasized that Parliament must embrace technology to strengthen institutional effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. The implementation of these digital systems aims to modernize parliamentary proceedings and enhance the overall performance of the legislature.
Key points
- The biometric attendance system will ensure accurate records of MPs' attendance.
- The electronic voting system will speed up decision-making and improve voting efficiency.
- The use of artificial intelligence (AI) will be explored to enhance parliamentary business.
