Afenyo slams Bagbin for adjourning parliament again, calls it 'supervising chaos'

Speaker Alban Bagbin's decision to adjourn Parliament indefinitely has drawn sharp criticism from Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who described the move as one that amounts to supervising chaos and undermines the integrity of Ghana's democratic processes.

Afenyo-Markin expressed his dissatisfaction with the series of events leading to the House’s adjournment on Thursday, 7 November, after Bagbin decided to suspend the sitting due to the absence of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members, leaving no business to conduct.

During the adjournment announcement, Speaker Bagbin briefly mentioned that he had received a communication from the Supreme Court instructing him to stay his earlier ruling, which had declared four parliamentary seats vacant. However, he did not provide further details about the contents of the communication, leaving both MPs and observers uncertain about the implications of the Court’s directive.

Despite having the numbers to conduct business, the Speaker informed the House on Tuesday that they lacked the quorum needed to make decisions.

Hon. members, we don’t have at least half of all the Members of Parliament present. Consequently, in view of the current circumstances, the fact that there’s a question on the composition and constitution of Parliament, and having regard to the public interest and the exigencies of the affairs in Parliament, I will proceed, in accordance with Standing Order 59, to adjourn the House indefinitely, that is, sine die.

“Hon. members, I have consulted with leadership and am exercising my discretion to decide to suspend the meeting of the House indefinitely. The House is accordingly adjourned sine die.”

This communication is significant because it concerns the ongoing legal struggle over the four parliamentary seats that Speaker Bagbin declared vacant on 17 October: two from the NPP, one from the NDC, and one independent. The Supreme Court’s ruling has temporarily suspended the earlier decision, adding more complexity to the already fraught political climate.

The seats involved in this issue are Agona West (Cynthia Morrison), Fomena (Andrew Asiamah), Suhum (Kwadjo Asante), and Amenfi Central (Peter Kwakye Ackah).

Earlier in the session, NPP MPs chose to vacate the Chamber, leaving the NDC to occupy both sides of the House. This move came in response to mounting disputes over the Majority designation, which has been a point of contention since 17 October.

With the absence of NPP MPs, the necessary quorum was not met, prompting Speaker Bagbin to adjourn the session.

Significant uncertainties remain about the status of the vacant seats and the overall validity of the parliamentary composition due to Bagbin’s decision to withhold details from the Supreme Court’s communication. The ambiguity surrounding the situation only deepens the uncertainty already present in the legislative proceedings.

As Parliament has been adjourned indefinitely, the future remains unclear, with both the NPP and NDC awaiting further clarification on the Supreme Court’s ruling.

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