Speaker Bagbin summons Parliament to sit on November 7

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Badgin, has summoned Members of Parliament for a sitting on Thursday, November 7, 2024.

The order, which is in accordance with Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Standing Orders of Parliament, was contained in a statement shared by Parliament on social media, on October 1, 2024.

The statement indicated that the sitting would be held at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre, which the Parliament has been using as a makeshift floor because of the ongoing renovation of the House's chamber.

"PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 112 (3) AND ORDERS 5 AND 53 OF THE STANDING ORDERS OF THE PARLIAMENT OF GHANA, 1 RT HON ALBAN SUMANA KINGSFORD BAGBIN, SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, HEREBY SUMMON PARLIAMENT TO SIT ON 7TH NOVEMBER, 2024 AT TEN O'CLOCK IN THE FORENOON AT THE GRAND ARENA, ACCRA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ACCRA

"DATED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, ACCRA, GHANA, THIS 31 DAY OF OCTOBER, 2024," the order of the Speaker of Parliament reads.

The summons of the Speaker comes just days after the Supreme Court of Ghana threw out his application challenging the court's order for a stay of his declaration of four seats in the House vacant.

The Speaker of Parliament, through his lawyers, had asserted that the court had no jurisdiction over issues concerning the declaration of parliamentary seats and engaged in many procedural errors in directing the reversal of the Speaker’s declaration of the four seats vacant.

The panel of justices, in their ruling on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, dismissed the claims that the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, lacks jurisdiction to hear a matter of national interest, stating that every court is expected to stop hearing a matter once it is brought before them.

The ruling, which was read by Chief Justice Torkornoo, was full of criticism of the actions of Speaker Alban Bagbin on the declaration he made on October 18, 2024.

The justices directed criticism at the Speaker over his claim that he can only be served on Mondays and that any attempt to serve him on other days was unconstitutional.

They also indicated that Bagbin overstepped his power by interpreting an article of the 1992 Constitution, which is their sole mandate.

The Supreme Court also indicated that the Speaker was well aware of an injunction they issued for him not to declare the seats in question vacant, but he went on to do it.

They added that the declaration of the four seats vacant by Speaker Bagbin would cause irreparable damage not only to the four affected Members of Parliament, but also to the tens of thousands of Ghanaians they represent, before going on to quash his (the Speaker’s) application.

BAI/

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