Speaker of Parliament's Decision To Vacate Parliamentary Seats Unconstitutional- Afenyo Markin

In a dramatic turn of events in Ghana's Parliament, the Effutu MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin openly attacked Speaker Alban Bagbin for his ruling to vacate four parliamentary seats, which he described as unconstitutional. The row was sparked by Bagbin approving a motion that Haruna Iddrisu raised to force four MPs to vacate their seats in preparation for the 2024 elections.

Speaking on Citi FM's Breakfast Show, Afenyo-Markin maintained that Bagbin acted beyond his statutory powers. He indicated that the Speaker had overstepped his bounds to have directed Members of Parliament to forfeit their seats under those circumstances. For him, what was right under the circumstances was for the matter, as stipulated under Order 93(6) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, to be referred to a committee for proper consideration before a final ruling.

These four MPs include Cynthia Mamle Morrison, MP for Agona West; Kwadjo Asante, MP for Suhum; Peter Kwakye-Ackah, MP for Amenfi Central; and Andrew Amoako Asiamah, an independent MP for Fomena, who has just rejoined the NPP. According to him, such a ruling by the Speaker simply skirted regular procedures in the House to produce a wholly unnecessary mess.

In his contribution, Afenyo-Markin wondered why Bagbin abandoned the motion process, insinuating that such a hurried move could affect parliamentary processes' dignity. He feared this mistake would introduce them to more problems and disrupt Parliament from carrying out its duties smoothly.