The Speaker is a threat to Ghana's democracy- Kabila

Social commentator and activist, James Kwabena Bonfeh, popularly known as Kabila, has stated that the recent declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin,, undermines the stability of Parliament and by extension Ghana's democratic credentials.

According to a report by myjoyonline.com, Kabila made these remarks in a recent interview with Peace FM.

He explained that the Speaker's role is to uphold the law and ensure smooth parliamentary proceedings.

Kabila further indicated that the decisions of the Speaker appears to be

fueling division and warned that it could have serious implications for Ghana's democracy.

"By law, we have 275 seats in Parliament, and nobody can vary that number to 271 not even the Supreme Court. The number is a given that we have 275 seats in Parliament. So what Ato Forson did for the Speaker to wrongly declare those seats vacant amounted to endangering the country's democracy, and that is what Speaker Bagbin has become. He is a threat to our democracy," he stated.

Background

On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, adjourned the sitting of the House sine die (indefinitely), just a week after Members of Parliament reconvened following a long recess.

Speaker Bagbin, before suspending the proceedings of Parliament, indicated that even though the House had the numbers to form a quorum for a meeting, it did not have the numbers to make decisions per the Standing Orders of the House.

The House did not have the numbers for decision-making because New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament had boycotted the sitting over the brouhaha on which political party should form the Majority Caucus.

The Speaker mentioned the directive by the Supreme Court asking him to stay his declaration of four seats in the House vacant, which has made MPs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) the Majority Caucus.

Bagbin did not indicate whether he was going to adhere to the order of the court and went on to adjourn the House indefinitely.

The Supreme Court of Ghana on October 18, 2024, stayed the ruling of Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, in the matter of the vacation of some four seats.

after it considered an application from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament.

The decision by the apex court effectively suspends the implementation of the Speaker’s ruling on October 17, 2024, pending further legal review and final determination.

Bagbin had granted a motion by the Leader of the NDC caucus, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to declare some four seats vacant, making the NDC the party with majority members in Parliament.

Delivering his ruling, the Speaker noted that the decision by the affected MPs to contest in the December 7, 2024, election as independent or on the ticket of a party different from the party on whose ticket they currently serve contravened Article 97(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

He noted that the motive and operational effect of Article 97(g) and (h) was to cure the issues of cross carpeting and defection as witnessed in parliaments of old.

He stated that the intent of Article 97(g)(i) was to cure party loyalty throughout the stay of an MP in Parliament.

He emphasised that the affected MPs, by their decision and the Notice of Polls issued by the Electoral Commission for the December 7, 2024, parliamentary elections, have vacated their seats.

The affected seats and their MPs included Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadwo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).

The NDC is upholding the Speaker's ruling, while the NPP is supporting the Supreme Court's decision.

JKB

Meanwhile, catch up on the latest episode of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV with Etsey Atisu as he caught with Philip Atawura, who just returned from a successful kidney transplant in India



In the meantime, follow Ernestina Asante as she tours the Asokwa Constituency and speaks with MP Patricia Appiagyei in this episode of Campaign Trail on GhanaWeb TV: