NPP and NDC MPs Share Majority Side In Parliament

Things got heated in Ghana's Parliament, as, in a bizarre incident, the Minority Caucus occupied the Chamber on the Majority side in a very important parliamentary session on October 22, 2024. Members of the National Democratic Congress made the action spiral into an already strained relationship with the governing New Patriotic Party which has been trying to contain its internal political wrangling.

The standoff, however, is the result of the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, on October 17, 2024, ruling that four parliamentary seats were now vacant. This put the NPP seats back to 135 while the NDC retained 136, effectively placing them as the new de facto majority. The NPP, however, challenged the decision, and on October 18, the Supreme Court subsequently issued a stay that kept the affected MPs in their seats until the final verdict.

Despite the legal contest still pending, the NDC lost no time in pressing home their numerical advantage, seating themselves in the Majority's section. Minority Chief Whip Governs Kwame Agbodza defended the move, citing the Speaker's ruling as enough reason for the action. The action was branded premature and disrespectful of due process of the law as NPP MPs, led by the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, criticized it.

Fears of potential confrontations prompted tightened security in and around Parliament. The standoff occurred at a very critical moment when the country is gearing up for the 2024 general elections, with both sides trying to flex their muscles for supremacy in Parliament.