The Supreme Court has reversed Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Bagbin’s declaration of four seats vacant in parliament.
A 5-2 decision by the 7-member panel on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 ruled that the Speaker, Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four seats as vacant is unconstitutional.
The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo however said the reasons for the verdict would be provided on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.
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Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin has vowed that his side, the New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament would never assume the Minority seat in parliament.
He described that decision as a bad omen since it was close to election. “….I should go and sit on the Minority seat? Spiritually, it is not even good. We have three weeks to election I should go and sit on the Minority seat, is that my seat? I won’t even dare, I will never do it, that’s not my rightful place”. He emphasized that no NPP MP will do that.
He also alleged that they were privy to certain things that they cannot make public; adding that if the NPP had entered the chamber to enforce their right “perhaps we wouldn’t have been here”.
“We are decent people, we respect the court, we respect the law, and our doors are opened to Mr. Speaker’s call. I repeat our doors are opened to Mr. Speaker’s call; political decisions are for common sense approach, we believe in the common sense approach in solving this, and the common sense approach is for Mr. Speaker to direct the NDC side to go back to their seat”.
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Leader of the New Patriotic Party Caucus in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has affirmed his side’s readiness for Speaker Bagbin’s olive branch to settle the impasse in parliament.
“We want Mr. Speaker to demonstrate the statesmanship that he’s always known to be, on this occasion, it’s been disappointing, but we’ll not give up because we believe that upon reflection, upon reflection, Mr. Speaker will do the needful”.
Speaking on Monday, after the Supreme Court adjourned the case on the four vacant seats in parliament, Mr. Afenyo-Markin accused the Speaker of being in the known of all that the NDC in parliament is doing, hence he has to call them to order; “else he would be complicit as we see him to be; he is the head of the Assembly”, he added.
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The Supreme Court has deferred the ruling on the four vacant seats in parliament to Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
The Supreme Court on Monday concluded arguments presented by the plaintiff and the Attorney-General, as counsel for the Speaker was not present in court during the hearing.
In the previous proceedings, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo directed Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin to submit relevant documents by Wednesday, November 6.
This order came after the Speaker’s counsel, Thaddeus Sory, sought additional time to consult with the Speaker and obtain necessary instructions for the case.
However, the Speaker Alban Bagbin failed to submit a statement of case in the Supreme Court regarding the legal dispute over the vacant parliamentary seats.
Ghanamps.com
The Supreme Court is ruling on the contentious case regarding the vacant parliamentary seats of three MPs who have filed to run as independent candidates and one independent joining the NPP in the upcoming December general elections following an adjournment on October 30.
In the previous proceedings, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo directed Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin to submit relevant documents by Wednesday, November 6.
This order came after the Speaker’s counsel, Thaddeus Sory, sought additional time to consult with the Speaker and obtain necessary instructions for the case.
Ghanamps.com
Hon. Francisca Oteng-Mensah appointed Chairman of National Youth Authority in 2017, making her first entry into Ghana’s Parliament
Member of Parliament for Assin Central Ken Ohene Agyapong has set the records straight that he did not run away from the chamber when the House had its emergency recall on Thursday, November 7, 2024, as journalists seek to ask.
According to him they were in a caucus meeting, and he was asked to engage the Rt. Hon Speaker Alban Bagbin as they got wind that the NDC group was occupying seats to the right of the Speaker which usually belongs to the Majority.
“When I entered the chamber there was proceedings ongoing so it’s not deliberate that the NPP refused, we had to engage the Speaker, I am not in leadership they respect my opinion and I know Speaker as friend before I even entered Parliament. He was my company lawyer, and I give him that respect and sometimes I go to him to share ideas.
So I was asked to this time around to engage the speaker since he is my man. Unfortunately our caucus meeting took so long and there was no TV for us to monitor what was going on, “so young man I was not running away, we were coming to consult the Speaker and the Minority before we go in there unfortunately when we got there he was sitting, we had to walk away”.
“Now, the question is, where NDC was sitting, where did you want me to go and seat. Do you want me to go and pull my chair from my colleague from the other side? No, we do not want the chaos that happened at the beginning of the lifespan of this parliament to happen, so peacefully I walked out with the deputy Majority leader and the two whips”.
Mr Agyapong who said his major concern is the preservation of the peace of the country said, “we have nowhere to go, only Ghana, so we should be mindful of whatever we are going to say. This politics where journalists have taken an entrenched position and politicians, it will not help us. I am begging you, what happened today, we were not boycotting, we wanted an understanding and the meeting took too long”, he affirmed.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com
Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kenndy Ohene Agyapong has bemoaned the turn of event on Thursday, 7 November 2024, when the emergency recall of the House could not achieve success, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) group in Parliament occupying the Majority side of the House.
“Assuming the NDC wins the 2024 elections with their current posture; will they get two thirds of Members of Parliament to take decisions? He questioned.
Again, if the NDC are saying the former Speaker Rt. Hon Oquaye set a bad example and you are using that to take a position, “so what happens if you win election and you do not get two thirds, do you expect the NPP to cooperate with you to rule the country? That’s my fear for Ghana. Whatever is going on, if we do not put an end to these political issues, we will see worse things in Parliament come 2025?”
According to him, his major concern is the people of Ghana and the peace of the country. “How many weeks do we have left for the country to go through what it’s going through? Do not think it is only the NPP going through this but it is the nation Ghana”.
Next month is going to be Christmas, workers are not going to have their salaries and parliament has to approve budget. “I decided not to talk but what I saw at the conference centre when I was coming, I am pleading with the media to be very objective, taking entrenched position to support a political party will not help this country”.
“I do not care of whoever wins, so long as we have a peaceful country that you can breathe, I have been to war-torn countries and I know the suffering people are going through; that is why I do not preach for war”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com
The Parliament of Ghana has suffered another indefinite adjournment having been recalled from similar situation under an emergency recall at the behest of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Group in parliament.
As at the commencement of sitting on 7th November, 2024, the House was without the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority.
The NDC group as per their earlier stand rightfully assumed the Majority group ready for the day’s business.
The Speaker said it was unfortunate that the signatories to the request for the recall were absent from the House, “therefore matters that they wanted us to handle which were admitted for the consideration of the business committee are not on the Order Paper”.
And like the previous instance, “the House had quorum to sit, but we have no business before us to transact because the Business Committee as you know they prepare a report, and this report is adopted by the House as business agreed by the House to transact during the course of the week”.
In the absence of that, he said there is no other authority that can put business before you which you have not adopted to transact.
“In view of the failure of the business committee to sit, as a result of those who requested for the recall to show up, we are compelled to once again adjourn the sitting of the House.
Knowing the challenges we are facing, it is not advisable to be adjourning from day to day, and so I will proceed once more to adjourn the meeting indefinitely and the meeting, this extra ordinary meeting is accordingly adjourned.”
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Hon. Abena Osei Asare becomes First Female Minister of State at Ghana’s Finance Ministry
