NPP Caucus to Urge Speaker to Recall Parliament – Afenyo-Markin

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus in Parliament is set to petition the Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin, to recall the House for further deliberations, according to Alexander Afenyo-Markin, leader of the NPP side. Mr. Afenyo-Markin emphasized the urgency of resolving the deadlock after a recent walkout by the NPP members over a disagreement on sitting arrangements.

On Tuesday morning, Parliament reconvened, but a contentious dispute arose between the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over which side should occupy the Majority and Minority seats. This disagreement stemmed from a ruling by Speaker Bagbin last Thursday, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant due to the MPs in question either filing as independent candidates or on different party tickets for the upcoming December 7, 2024 elections.

Following the ruling, the NPP Caucus filed an ex parte motion with the Supreme Court, requesting that the Speaker’s decision be halted. The Supreme Court granted the request, directing the Speaker to suspend the implementation of his ruling until the matter is fully resolved. Despite this, the NDC MPs argued that with 136 seats to the NPP’s 135, they now held the Majority, based on the Speaker’s initial ruling.

In contrast, the NPP maintained that per the Supreme Court’s directive, the previous parliamentary arrangement remained unchanged, leading to their dissatisfaction with the sitting arrangements. When MPs from both sides attempted to occupy seats normally reserved for the Majority, tensions flared, and the NPP ultimately staged a walkout.

Speaker Bagbin, noting the walkout and the lack of sufficient numbers to take substantive decisions, adjourned the sitting indefinitely, though he acknowledged that there were enough members to begin parliamentary business.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin, addressing the media after the walkout, affirmed that his side will formally request the Speaker to recall Parliament to address the unresolved issues. “We cannot let this stalemate continue. We have important national business to attend to, and we need a functional Parliament to do that,” he remarked.

As the political tension between the two sides escalates, all eyes are now on the Speaker and the Supreme Court’s final determination of the matter.