News
Learn to be principled – Della Sowah tells NPP
Member of Parliament(MP) for Kpando Constituency, Della Sowah has advised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to learn to be principled in their dealings with Ghanaians.
According to Della Sowah, she was surprised by the stands and commentary by the NPP regarding the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament yesterday.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin yesterday declared four seats in parliament as vacant.
This followed a motion filed by former Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
He argued that the MPs who are seeking to contest the upcoming December elections as independent candidates must renounce their parliamentary positions as outlined in the constitutional provisions governing parliamentary membership.
The affected MPs are Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kojo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).
However, the NPP MPs, including their Leader Afenyo Markin, believe the Speaker was wrong in his ruling because he did not have that power to make such a determination.
They also say that the precedence set by Professor Mike Oquaye was in error.
This notwithstanding, Della Sowah is of the view that such a sudden switch is just a display of hypocrisy at the highest level.
Della Sowah added that Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution provides “a member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member.”
The Kpando MP said Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution is
clear and does not need any special interpretation for one to understand.
She concluded by saying that Ghanaians are tired of politics of convenience.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Speaker adjourns Parliament indefinitely
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has today adjourned the house indefinitely.
The Speaker cited lack of sufficient Members of Parliament to take decisions and the controversy about the composition of the house.
Additionally, he said he referred to the Supreme Court injunction on his decision last Thursday which declared four seats vacant.
Presiding over Parliament in the absence of the NPP MPs, he said “Yesterday I received a process from the Supreme Court directing parliament to recognize the four effected members of parliament to duly represent their constituents and conduct full scope of duties of their offices as Members of Parliament pending the final determination of a suit filed by Alexander Afenyo Markin.
He further added that “By Article 102 of the 1992 Constitution and order 64(1) of Standings I note that we currently have a quorum to do business, but not to take decisions.”
The Speaker added that “But by Article 104, the numbers are not sufficient to take a decision.I quote Article 104(1) says, Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, matters in Parliament shall be determined by the votes of the majority of members present and voting, with at least half of all the members of Parliament present.”
The Speaker in his co concluding remarks said, “Hon Members, we don’t have half of all the members, consequently in view of the current circumstance, the fact that there is a question on the composition of parliament and having regard to the public interest and the exigencies of the state of affairs in Parliament I will proceed to in accordance with standing orders 59 adjourn the house indefinitely.”
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Treat with disdain attempt to smear Speaker- Parliament
According to Parliament, their attention has been drawn to a video circulating on social media insinuating that the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has been invited to a meeting with the President to negotiate a settlement in respect of the pronouncement by the Rt. Hon. Speaker on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
This is in response to a call by the Minority Leader to declare the seats of four (4) Members of Parliament vacant.
“Parliament states without any equivocation that there is no iota of truth in the insinuation
in the cireulated video,” the statement added.
Parliament further stated that “video in question was taken on July 4, 2024, when the Rt.Hon. Speaker led a delegation to present the maiden democracy cup to the President.”
According to the statement, “The attempt to wrongly label the video and twist facts to impugn the integrity of the Rt. Hon.Speaker and Parliament is not only disingenuous but unfortunate.”
“The general public is hereby advised to ignore the attempt to hoodwink them into believing what has never transpired and treat the narrative with the contempt it deserves,” they concluded.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
