Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu casts doubt on Bagbin's handling of Kpandai vacancy seat case

Former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has raised concerns over Parliament’s handling of the Kpandai vacant seat, noting that it is a sharp departure from precedence.

He argued that the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, has taken a completely different position as compared to how he handled the case involving the Assin North seat in 2023, when James Gyakye Quayson’s position was declared vacant.

Kpandai Rerun: Watch as NPP MPs chant 'Djietror must go' in Parliament

Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained that in that instance, the Speaker insisted that any communication from the courts relating to a sitting MP must be directed at the Speaker, not the Clerk of Parliament.

“In the Gyakye Quayson case, when communication from the court came through the Clerk, the Speaker indicated that because the matter related to a Member of Parliament, it was not within the Clerk’s jurisdiction. The Speaker was responsible,” he explained.

'Fight' breaks out in Ghana's parliament

He questioned why, under the same Speaker, the clerk is now the one receiving and acting on such communication.

“So, what has changed that today service is directed at the Clerk of Parliament?” he asked.

He added that in the earlier case, the Speaker of Parliament had insisted Parliament could not rush to notify the Electoral Commission so long as an appeal had been filed.

According to him, the Speaker cautioned that “an irreparable damage will be done if Parliament rushed to communicate the decision of the court to the Electoral Commission for them to hold a by-election.”

Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu also stated that his earlier position was clear, hence Parliament must wait until all legal processes are exhausted before writing to the EC.

“We should wait until the processes have been exhausted… then Parliament will communicate the vacancy,” he recalled.

The former Majority Leader also rejected suggestions that the clerk may have acted independently.

“Let’s be honest with ourselves. No clerk ever acts on his own in any such case, a decision is taken… the clerk is then instructed by the Speaker to write. No clerk acts on his own. There shouldn’t be any pretensions about this.”

He recalled that in the earlier matter, the Speaker himself barred the clerk from receiving court documents.

“The Speaker said… this matter relates to the Member of Parliament who does not come under your supervision. It is I, the Speaker. So, they should go back. What has changed?” he asied.

Parliament has formally notified the Electoral Commission (EC) of a vacancy in the membership of the House for the Kpandai Constituency, following a court order mandating a re-run of the 2024 Parliamentary Elections in that area.

The letter, addressed to the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, was issued and signed by Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the Clerk to Parliament.

JKB/AE

Also, watch below Amnesty International's 'Protect the Protest' documentary as the world marks International Human Rights Day 2025