Minority disregarding procedure – Majority

Minority MPs have developed a penchant for violating parliamentary procedures, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader, has said.

According to him, the Minority want to have their way in parliament even though they are not following laid down rules and regulations spelt out for MPs in the house, a situation he said cannot be countenanced.

His comments follow a walk-out staged by the Minority on Tuesday, 1 August during deliberations on the controversial $510 million AMERI power deal.

The walk-out followed concerns raised by the Minority that they were being gagged and prevented from making contributions on the floor.

They accused the Speaker of muzzling them, thus had no alternative but to walk out as a sign of protest, Class91.3FM's parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan reported.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu accused Prof Mike Oquaye of being a threat to democracy in parliament.

But speaking in an interview with journalists after the Minority’s walk out, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said: “In the event of disagreement with Mr Speaker, the process is for you to come with a motion.

“I think my colleagues are not subjecting themselves to the rules of parliament and they want to be granted exemptions of the rules.

“That certainly cannot be accommodated; we are talking about the rules of procedure. Parliament is the house that makes laws and we ourselves are governed by laws so at that stage we are dealing with procedure.”