The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has backed President John Dramani Mahama’s call for a national dialogue on hate speech and abusive online content.
He said the President’s call as timely and necessary to protect Ghana’s democratic culture.
He explained that the proposed national stakeholder engagement should bring together relevant institutions and stakeholders to examine the growing incidence of abusive, insulting, threatening and hateful speech in the country, particularly on social media and other digital platforms.
President Mahama last week directed the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to convene the engagement to address hate speech, abusive online content and responsible digital communication. The initiative is expected to develop a national roadmap that tackles harmful content while protecting freedom of expression.
Addressing Parliament in Accra on Friday (Sept 29), Mr Bagbin said he had taken note of the President’s call and the support it had received across the country and beyond.
“I believe that the call is timely and deserves the support of all persons and institutions committed to the preservation of our democracy,” he said.
Let’s protect free speech
The Speaker said the increasing intensity of public discourse should concern all Ghanaians, particularly at a time when social media had expanded the democratic space and given citizens unprecedented opportunities to participate in national affairs.
He acknowledged that digital platforms had enabled citizens to express opinions, criticise public officials, expose wrongdoing and demand accountability.
“These are gains which must be protected,” he said, saying that freedom of speech and expression, including freedom of the press and other media, was guaranteed by the Constitution.
He, however, said the constitutional protection of free expression should not be interpreted as a licence for the degradation of public discourse.
He said political disagreement, satire, dissent and vigorous debate were essential features of democracy, but expressed concern that disagreements were increasingly being communicated through insults, personal attacks, ethnic insinuations, threats and allegations repeated without regard to their truth or consequences.
He said the speed and reach of digital platforms had amplified such language and increased the potential impact on society.
“This should concern us all, irrespective of political affiliation,” he said.
Exercise oversight
The Speaker said the national conversation proposed by the President should be broad, inclusive and measured, and should not become an avenue for suppressing dissent or shielding public officials from legitimate criticism.
At the same time, he said legitimate concerns about freedom of expression should not be used to justify threats, incitement, deliberate falsehoods or reckless abuse of other people.
Mr Bagbin, therefore, urged Parliament to become an active participant in the national dialogue, directing the appropriate committees, particularly the Human Rights Committee, to exercise their oversight responsibilities.
“I therefore expect the appropriate committees of this House to take an active interest in the matters and to engage relevant constitutional, regulatory and civil society bodies on the stage of our public discourse,” he said.
Conduct yourself properly
The Speaker added that Parliament should examine the adequacy of Ghana’s existing legal and institutional framework for dealing with abusive and harmful speech, while ensuring that any response was constitutional, proportionate and carefully calibrated.
“We must protect citizens against genuinely unlawful conduct without criminalising disagreement.
“We must protect public officials from threats without protecting them from criticism and we must preserve the freedom of expression upon which democratic accountability itself depends.”
The Speaker also turned the spotlight on Parliament itself, saying MPs could not credibly demand responsible speech from journalists, broadcasters, bloggers, content creators and other citizens without first examining their own conduct.
“Parliament must be prepared to look inward,” he said, saying that “we cannot credibly demand higher standards of public discourse from society if we are unwilling to demand those standards of ourselves.”
Mr Bagbin said parliamentary proceedings, committee activities, press conferences, interviews, public meetings and social media engagements all contributed to shaping the national conversation.
He expressed concern that some language used by MPs, both inside and outside Parliament, had fallen below the standards expected of elected representatives.
“Robust disagreement is legitimate. Strong criticism is legitimate. Holding government, the opposition, the Speaker, leadership and every institution or state to account is legitimate.
“But insult is not argument. Abuse is not scrutiny.”
He also urged the leadership of both political parties to discourage the elevation or reward of individuals whose public prominence was based on abusive language.
“Our address to both political parties’ leaders: Don’t reward only bitter tongues,” he said, warning that doing so could encourage others to adopt similar conduct.
Mr Bagbin said Ghana’s democratic stability should not be taken for granted, stressing that democracy was sustained not only by constitutions, elections, courts and Parliament, but also by discipline, decency and a political culture that allowed citizens to disagree without denying one another their humanity and equal citizenship.
He said words had the power either to mobilise citizens towards a common national purpose or inflame passions and deepen divisions.
“We must therefore be careful that through the cumulative effect of our language and conduct, we do not push our country towards the precipice from which it becomes increasingly difficult to retreat,” he said.
The Speaker’s intervention comes as the President’s proposed national engagement gathers attention, with the Presidency calling for participation by institutions including the National Media Commission, religious bodies, security agencies, civil society organisations, traditional media organisations, bloggers, influencers and social media content creators.
Mr Bagbin concluded by calling on MPs and political actors on both sides of the House to moderate their language and demonstrate that firmness of political conviction did not have to be accompanied by disrespect.
“This responsibility applies equally to the Majority and the Minority,” he said, adding that the same standards should apply whether political actors spoke on the floor of Parliament, at committee meetings, press conferences, on radio and television or through social media.
“Members of Parliament must lead by example,” he said.
