Ghanatodayonline.com News, Politics, Health, Education & More
Members of Parliament (MPs) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) vacated the temporary floor of Parliament in the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) Dome prior to the meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the NPP MPs, said they were departing to prevent a disturbance in the House.
The NPP is a law-abiding party, he said, and its members will not commit any crimes.
Afenyo-Markin said that his caucus members will not argue with their counterparts on the other side over which group makes up the House’s Majority Caucus. He maintained that the Majority Caucus was his caucus.
Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, was also cautioned by Afenyo to follow the Supreme Court’s order to halt his announcement that four seats in Parliament were vacant.
After he finished speaking, NPP members sung their party anthem and left.
They were hooted at by National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament as they departed.
On October 18, 2024, Ghana’s Supreme Court overturned Speaker of the House of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s decision over the vacation of about four seats.
This happened when the nation’s top court, presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, was deliberating on a request from members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in parliament.
The supreme court’s verdict essentially halts the Speaker’s October 17, 2024, ruling until more legal review and a final decision are made.
The NDC now has a majority in Parliament after Bagbin approved a move by Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson to declare about four seats vacant.
In his verdict, the Speaker pointed out that the concerned Members of Parliament had violated Article 97(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution by choosing to run in the December 7, 2024, election as independents or on the ticket of a party other than the one they presently represent.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
