The Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu, has said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MP) will occupy the majority side of the House at Thursday’s sitting.
According to him, the NPP caucus remains the majority in Parliament and will therefore occupy the majority side of the House.
“We are coming back tomorrow to Parliament and we are the majority and we will sit on the right hand of the Speaker tomorrow,” he said on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, November 6.
His statement follows remarks from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus, who also claimed they would sit on the majority side when Parliament reconvenes on Thursday.
The NDC MP for Adaklu, Kwame Governs Agbodza, said his side would abide by the Speaker’s ruling, which vacated the seats of four MPs running for re-election with parties other than those that originally brought them to Parliament.
“We will be attending upon the House as directed by the Speaker. We shall be taking our seats in the chamber in accordance with the Majority side which we are in Parliament,” he said.
He said that the NDC MPs are willing to cooperate with the NPP side to conduct government business.
Mr Agbodza also advised the NPP to prioritise matters that serve the national interest, saying, “our advice to our minority NPP is to try and prioritise business that is in the interest of the people of this country, and they shall find favor and cooperation with us in trying to deal with those businesses.”
But responding to these comments, the Deputy Majority Chief Whip pointed to the Supreme Court ruling that overturned the Speaker’s earlier decision declaring the four parliamentary seats vacant.
He noted that Speaker Alban Bagbin had acknowledged this stay of ruling and had requested that the Supreme Court’s ruling be set aside.
“So on what basis will the NDC come and sit on the majority side? On what basis that the Speaker has read the statement – the basis that the Speaker himself has acknowledged the Supreme Court has ruled for the stay of his ruling,” questioned.
Mr Iddrisu further emphasised the NPP caucus’s commitment to the rule of law and to Ghana’s democratic principles, assuring that his side would not “engage in any act of violence or anything that would mar the beauty of Ghana’s democracy.”
This comes weeks after both parties took up seats on the majority side of the House, leaving the minority side completely vacant on October 22.
This unusual arrangement was due to an ongoing confusion over which party holds the majority, following Speaker Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four vacant parliamentary seats on October 17.
The development came after the declaration by Speaker Bagbin that four parliamentary seats—three held by the NPP and one by the NDC—were vacant, shifting the balance of power in Parliament.
With the NDC claiming 136 seats and the NPP reduced to 135, the NDC quickly asserted itself as the new majority.
However, on Friday, October 18, the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution on Speaker Bagbin’s decision, ruling that the four MPs must be allowed to continue representing their constituencies until the court reaches a final decision.
Despite the court’s ruling, the NDC caucus has refused to relinquish its newly claimed majority status.
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