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The National Democratic Congress in Parliament has affirmed their Majority status in parliament following the declaration of four seats in parliament by the Speaker of Parliament.

In a press briefing on Sunday, October 20, 2024, in Parliament, the New Majority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson was emphatic of their resolve never to backdown from their newly attained Majority status not even the courts.

“We’ll jealously protect our new Majority status and will not bow, retreat or surrender our lawfully earned status”

“We’ll also not abdicate our responsibilities to the people of Ghana no matter what; nothing, absolutely nothing will change this position. We are fortified that the proceedings of parliament shall not be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament”

He asserts that any interference of the business of parliament is unlawful, unacceptable and shall be resisted.

He said they are poised to make good use of their new Majority position to the larger group of the Ghanaian society.

Specifically, he said they will institute measures to cancel some of the obnoxious taxes imposed on the citizens including the e-levy and betting tax. “We have never hidden our position that we are in parliament for the ordinary people”

As such, he disclosed that indeed the new NDC Majority will introduce private members’ bill to remove the E-levy and to reduce the suffering of the people of Ghana. “It is also true that we’ll use our new majority to remove the betting tax and other nuisance taxes.”

He asserts that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have already made Ghana a high tax regime which is negatively impacting the livelihood of Ghanaians and businesses. Thus, it is their resolve to use their new majority to protect businesses and the people of Ghana.

Dr. Ato Forson affirmed the new Majority’s believe that Speaker Bagbin acted fairly, firmly and lawfully in a matter that is perfectly within his domain. As such they stand with him and urged the public to do same.

Ghanamps.com

Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamen Afenyo-Markin has faulted the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin for not following due process in his declaration of four seats vacant in parliament.

The decision of the Speaker has since brought some friction between the two sides with each claiming to be in the Majority, especially after the Supreme Court ruling on the ex-parte application filled by Afenyo-Markin.

The Effutu lawmaker, Alexander Kwamen Afenyo-Markin points out that despite the ruling of the Speaker, he still referred to him as the Majority Leader and pointed out that if Mr. speaker had   allowed the matters in issue to be properly determined, “we will not have been where we are today”.

“My question is why the rush. What has become of the Haruna Iddrisu petition? He has rendered his petition Otiose is like the Haruna Iddrisu petition will have led to a due process being followed”.

“When did a Speaker allow a statement to metaphors into a motion for him to rule on?

He questioned why Joy FM did not address this yesterday. “Is it that there is no provision for what is to be done when a statement is made. Did what Ato Forson do meet the requirement of a statement under Order 93?”

Any written document, Bible, Quran, any holy book including our constitution should be read as a whole; the rule of automaticity does not really operate as a means to an end, due process is always a preferred vehicle to achieve a means, he added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Leader of Government Business, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has expressed worry over the conduct of the Speaker Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Bagbin in his ruling that declared four seats vacant.

The Speaker, he said threatened him, (Afenyo-Markin) and became so apprehensive to the extent of calling the marshal on him; a development he described as most unfair”.

According to him after the Speaker had said whatever he wanted to say, “he was pushing me, under which rules was I coming under, basically stopping me from speaking; and did not want me to speak. I yielded to him that is his platform.

He said if Parliament is all about Speakers, he should take it. However, he has forgotten that it took fifty calumets from us to make him a Speaker.

“Often, he forgets and does the biding of NDC; if all the NDC members voted for him, he will not be Speaker, but we leave that to posterity and his own good judgement”, he lamented in an interview.

As to whether the New Patriotic Party (NPP) constitution is not specific that when you go independent, you are no longer a member of the party, he said the specific provision under Article three details the rights of a member; despite that, there is a clause that confesses the automaticity right.

Same party constitution gives due process, right of fair hearing on the member who is affected. A member shall have the right to participate in all activities of the party subject to rules and regulations.

He further pointed out that, that member should be heard whenever his or her activities and conducts are in question and under consideration. “If any member has decided to file as an independent candidate in the next election and the party is not happy, the constitution of the party enjoins the party to hear the person to explain his activities.

Again, we in the NPP, we have not written to Mr. Speaker. They said they were following precedence. Even if that is the precedence they want to follow, that precedence was triggered by a certain process.

“Has the NDC written to Mr. Speaker, has the General Secretary done that to the Speaker, that indeed our member Ackah has been sacked?”.

Has NPP written. I as the Majority Leader and Leader of the caucus have I written to Mr. Speaker to say that this is the communication from the party therefore please proceed?”

“So, you place something on nothing and that is why it is falling and crushing. There is nothing that support their action, he affirmed.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) position as Majority in parliament is short-lived as the Supreme Court of the land barely 24 hours stays execution of ruling of the Speaker of Parliament declaring four seats vacant pending determination of the substantive suit.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court on Friday, October 18, 2024, granted the stay of execution following an ex parte application filed by the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

Ghanamps.com

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus in Parliament has said the Speaker Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin’s ruling is dangerous and unprecedented threatening the very foundation of the nation’s constitutional democracy.

In a statement, they pointed out that, the ruling attempts to unconstitutionally reconfigure the composition of Parliament, potentially shifting the balance of power of the House through, extra-legal means.

Whiles the ruling affects members from both sides of the aisle; it disproportionately impacts the Majority, raising serious questions about its impartiality and motivations.

The statement further pointed out that, the speaker’s action constitutes a clear usurpation of powers vested in the Supreme Court of Ghana under article 2(1) and 130 of the 1992 constitution.

As the provision explicitly empower the Supreme Court with the authority to interpret and enforce constitutional matters and the speakers action contravene Article 99 (1) of the constitution, which vests the High court with jurisdiction to determine questions of parliamentary membership validity.

By pre-emptively ruling on the issue, the Speaker has egregiously undermined the separation of powers that is fundamental to Ghana’s democracy.

The statement also described as troubling the fact that the Speaker proceeded with the ruling despite being fully aware that the matter of the meaning and effect of Article 94 (1) (g) was pending before the Supreme Court.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

In a rather unexpected turn of events, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in parliament has become the Majority with barely two months to the 2024 general elections.

This is due to the declaration of four (4) parliamentary seats vacant by the Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin on Thursday, October 17, 2024 in a ruling of a petition brought before him by Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South following some four MPs filing nominations to contest the upcoming elections on different tickets other than the one that brought them to parliament.

With the NDC having lost only one of their members in the vacant seat declaration and the NPP losing three members, the NDC Minority now has the Numerical advantage of 136 from their initial 137 as against NPP’s 135 from the initial 138 members.

More so, the NDC would again have the opportunity to elect the second Deputy Speaker; a position that has also become vacant since the occupant of the position, Hon. Andrew Asiamah Amoako, MP for Fomena Constituency, Ashanti Region (Independent) has been a victim of the vacant seat declaration.

Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Majority has described the ruling as an unconstitutional conduct by the Speaker and are waiting for the Supreme Court ruling, hoping to regain their Majority status in the House.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

The New Patriotic Party that until Thursday October 17, 2024 controlled parliament as the Majority with the support of the only independent Member of Parliament has refused to accept their ordeal of becoming the Minority.

The current fate of the ruling party was occasioned by Thursday’s ruling of the Speaker on the petition brought before him by Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South urging the Speaker to declare some seats vacant.

The Speaker affirmed the request and declared the four seats;

1. Hon. Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, MP for Amenfi Central Constituency, Western Region (NDC)

2. Hon. Andrew Asiamah Amoako, MP for Fomena Constituency, Ashanti Region (Independent)

3. Hon. Kwadjo Asante, MP for Suhum Constituency, Eastern Region (NPP)

4. Hon. Cynthia Morrison, MP for Agona West Constituency, Central Region (NPP) vacant.

Unfortunately, the NPP would have none of this as they vowed to use every legal means possible to have the decision of the Speaker annulled.

The NPP in parliament in a statement after the ruling accused the Speaker of playing into the broader agenda to alter the numbers and give the NDC the upper hand to control the House.

This, they said was evident in the hasty manner Dr. Ato Forson, the Minority Leader proclaimed their NDC’s Majority status at the beginning of this meeting.

” The ruling, in effect attempts to unconstitutionally reconfigure the composition of parliament, potentially shifting the balance of power in the House through extra-legal means. It is worth noting that while the ruling affects members from both sides of the aisle, it disproportionally impacts the Majority, raising serious questions about its impartiality and motivations”.

As such the Majority has declared that they will “take every lawful action necessary to resist and defeat this unconstitutional conduct by the Speaker. We are committed to taking all steps required to restore the constitutional order that has been sought to be subverted in Parliament”.

Additionally, they called upon the Supreme Court to hear and determine the case brought before it by the Majority Leader with the utmost urgency; stating that the stability of our democracy and the integrity of our parliamentary processes hang in the balance due to the Speaker’s unconstitutional conduct.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has pointed out that former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu as a lawyer has done the right thing by petitioning Mr. Speaker on the issue of three Members of Parliament contesting 2024 parliamentary elections as independent candidates as well as the only independent MP contesting on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Even before the House will resume, the Tamale South Lawmaker Haruna Iddrisu indicated that the Minority will become Majority in case the three seats in the Majority side should be declared vacant.

The Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin has noted that the statement of public concern raised by the Minority leader Dr. Ato Forson is not the right way to go and rather should learn from the lawyer former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.

Meanwhile, the Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin has gone to the Supreme court against the intention of the Tamale South MP seeking for four seats to be declared vacant.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Despite the short span of the fifth meeting of the eighth parliament, the Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has indicated that there are urgent Government Businesses that need the attention of the House.

Speaking at the opening of the House on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the Majority Leader, said the following six critical Bills need the attention of the House as well as others.

They are;

• Environmental Protection Agency Bill, 2024

• Social Protection Bill, 2023

• Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2024

• Budget Bill, 2023

• Ghana Boundary Commission Bill, 2023

• Intestate Succession Bill, 2022

Welcoming his colleagues, he noted that, the country is gearing up for another General Elections come December 7th, 2024 and he is not oblivious of the huge responsibilities that this has placed on the Members seeking another mandate from our people.

These and other similar important Bills before the House need to be considered before the House proceeds on recess. There are a number of Questions that are before the House that calls for the Sector Ministers to avail themselves to respond, he added.

“Mr Speaker, one issue that caught the attention of the nation during the recess period was the issue of illegal artisanal mining popularly known as “galamsey” in our local parlance. Although artisanal mining has been part of our local economy for decades, the devastation to our water bodies, forest and ecological reserves calls for the need to re-visit the issue of artisanal mining in recent times.

The President’s decision to deploy the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) through ‘Operation Halt’ in the early years of his presidency aimed to combat the threat of illegal mining, which was wreaking deliberate havoc on the nation’s water bodies and forest reserves.

While the operation achieved some successes, various challenges arose that undermined the efforts to fully eradicate the menace. We all in this Chamber must acknowledge the President for taking a bold decision to fight the menace of galamsey”.

Mr Speaker, the President in a statement released by the Presidency has reinforced the operational and tactical capacity of the ‘Operation Halt’ by directing the Minister for Defence to deploy additional military personnel to intensify the ongoing ‘Operation Halt’ across the country, he informed the House.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Amenfi Central Yaw Peter Kwakye-Ackah has confirmed to Ghanamps.com that he is indeed contesting as an independent candidate in the December 7, 2024 parliamentary election.

He said what has been reported in the media and on social media about his independent candidature is true, but refused to give any further details on his decision.

Minority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson made a statement of public concern on the floor of the House on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, when the House resumed from recess in relation to the former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu’s petition to the Speaker in an attempt to get the Speaker to declare some four seats vacant.

The four MPs, three from the Majority side and one from the Minority have filed to contest as independent candidates in the coming 2024 elections; and the former Minority leader thought it was time their seats are declared vacant having come to the eighth parliament on the ticket of political parties.

Former Majority Leader Cletus Avoka on his part contributing to the statement noted that, if you are elected by the people to represent them in Parliament and you have to leave to join another party or go independent in election, it is seen as a principle of not contacting the sovereign will of the people and you have betrayed them because they had agreement to come and support a political party.

“So, if three or four months for their turner to come to an end, you betray that course, you no longer belong to that party, the day you file nominations you stop belonging to that party”, he lamented.

He said Article 97 comes to play, to prevent a practice we have in our Republic and other jurisdiction, where people were elected on a party ticket, they came to parliament and because of their personal interest and because of hope of advantage, inducement and corruption, they jump to another party without reference to the people who brought them to the august Parliament.

And the commonsense aspect of it is this, before you go to fill your nomination with the electoral commission, you should have a letter from the political parties. The question is, “those going independent which party did they get letters to go and file?”

So can a party file two candidates? No, so you have filed as an independent candidate, you do not belong to the party that brought you to parliament. “Commonsense is those who left our parties and are going independent if we are meeting as a caucus to strategically win seats, will we invited those going independent, will we invite them to our meetings? No”, he added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com