KEY POINTS
- Speaker Bagbin requested two more days to deliver his ruling.
- Haruna Iddrisu’s petition calls for vacating the seats of four MPs.
- The Majority Leader filed an injunction application at the Supreme Court.
After hearing arguments from both the Majority and Minority sides of the House, Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, postponed deciding on a petition to remove the seats of four lawmakers.
Speaker Bagbin postpones ruling on Parliament’s heated debate
The ruling was reached after a protracted discussion involving divergent opinions on both sides’ positions on the petition’s legal and constitutional significance.
Former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu filed the petition. It makes use of Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which states that a Member of Parliament must resign from office if they leave the political party they were elected to or try to run for office again as an independent. The purpose of this clause is to keep the legislative body cohesive and loyal to its party.
Tuesday’s contentious debate on the House floor resulted in Speaker Bagbin asking for two more days to make a well-reasoned decision. He acknowledged receiving Iddrisu’s formal petition and said he needed more time to think things through.
“Give me these two days, please, and I will come back with a well-written decision. “During the session, I want to make sure that justice is not only done but also seen,” Bagbin stated to the House’s members.
Majority leader’s legal challenge filed amid parliamentary debate
According to a report by MyJoyOnline, Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin attempted to thwart the Minority’s efforts to have the seats of independent MPs declared empty by applying for an injunction at the Supreme Court earlier that same day. Speaker Bagbin, however, told the House that the legal action had not yet been formally served on him.
Bagbin replied to the injunction, “I haven’t been served with the process yet, so that is not before me.”
Bagbin rejected Afenyo-Markin’s request for authorisation to file his lawsuit, calling it an improper use of the legislative process. The Speaker informed the Majority Leader, “I decline to grant you the leave.”
