'We’re going to trigger a recall of Parliament, Bagbin is not Parliament' - Afenyo-Markin

The leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs), Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has criticised the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for suspending sittings of Parliament indefinitely.

Speaking in an interview on on October 22, 2024, Afenyo-Markin accused the Speaker of conniving with National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) to curtail the business of the government.

He alleged that the adjournment of the meeting of the House was hatched by Speaker Bagbin and the NDC MPs, which even some legislators of the opposition party are not happy with.

He went on to announce that his side of the House would trigger a recall of Parliament on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

“Is aiding the NDC not to allow Parliament to operate, to govern, and take major government business before we get into the election? That's their game plan. We knew about this. The moderate among them kept telling us and exactly what they've done. It started before the opening of parliament. During the recall, we had signals that they were not ready to do any government business and that's exactly what they're doing. They don't want parliament to function.

“You know what, God willing tomorrow, the Majority caucus will trigger a recall of Parliament. We will not allow Mr Speaker to ambush us. And all these things that Mr Speaker is doing, as the older statesman that we know him to be, he should know that he's hurting democracy. We know him to be an NDC member. But to deliberately act in such a manner, thinking that you give political advantage to your party so that eminent business will stop and frustrate the economy, leave so much to be desired,” he said.

He added, “But it's okay, we would use the law to get what we want. So, we are going to recall Parliament and then we will see what he will do, whether he would respect it to recall Parliament or not. We will leave it to him."

The leader of the NPP caucus also indicated that there was no reason for the Speaker to suspend sitting indefinitely over the ruling of the Supreme Court directing him to stay the declaration of the four seats in the House vacant.

He added that the Speaker should have just accepted the directive; questioning his authority to adjourn parliament sittings.

“There is no controversy that should trigger adjournment sine die. You have made your ruling. A court has questioned your authority and ordered you to do A, B, C, D. All you need to do as a democrat is to respect the authority of the court in full. Don't just acknowledge it and find another way to say ‘Oh you have people consulting you and you think there should be some discussions. So you are adjourning sine die.’

“As if you are the House. You are not parliament. With the greatest respect and in all modesty, Mr Speaker is not parliament.”

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.

This occurred as the highest court in the land, led by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, 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 Minority Leader 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), Kwadjo 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.

BAI/AE

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.