NDC MPs Occupy Majority Side Of Parliament Again, Bagbin Adjourns Sitting After NPP MPs' Boycott

• Speaker Alban Bagbin was forced to adjourn Parliament after the New Patriotic Party MPs again boycotted proceedings
• The tension was a result of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs occupying the Majority side of the House
• The parliamentary sitting took place at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre on November 7, 2024

As Parliament reconvened on the morning of November 7, 2024, only National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs were present in the chamber and claimed the seats on the Majority side of the house.

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin was forced to adjourn after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs again boycotted proceedings at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre.

Bagbin announced that without the presence of the NPP MPs, the House could not meet the quorum needed to make decisions.

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The absence of NPP MPs during the proceedings prompted frustration from NDC MPs, who viewed the situation as a lack of commitment by the governing party to parliamentary business.

This latest adjournment comes amid ongoing tensions between the Majority and Minority caucuses over which side is the majority in the House, which have impacted parliamentary proceedings in recent weeks.

With the indefinite adjournment, it remains uncertain when Parliament will reconvene to address pending legislative issues.

Bagbin had declared the seats for Fomena, Amenfi Central, Suhum, and Agona West vacant, but the Majority Leader challenged this in court and the Supreme Court halted the process.

Most recently, the Supreme Court dismissed an application by the Speaker of Parliament to overturn the Court’s ruling suspending his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.

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The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, had filed for a stay of execution to defend his side's majority status, which the speaker’s declaration had threatened by removing three of his MPs contesting the election on different tickets in 2024.

Bagbin previously adjourned parliamentary proceedings indefinitely on October 22 after the Majority of MPs boycotted parliament.

Kwaku Azar worried about Speaker's declaration

YEN.com.gh also reported that Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare said the declaration sets a dangerous precedent in Ghana’s parliament and could be used to stifle parliamentarians as they plan their political futures.

He argued that Bagbin had misapplied the provision of Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 constitution and also claimed he misinterpreted what the law was intended to achieve, disagreeing with the rational for his decision.

Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh