Speaker Alban Bagbin and K.T. Hammond
Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa, Kobina Tahir Hammond (K.T. Hammond), has announced that New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament plan to cite the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for contempt of the Supreme Court.
K.T. Hammond voiced his frustration over Speaker Bagbin’s decision to adjourn Parliament indefinitely on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
According to Hammond, the Speaker is in contempt because he disregarded the Supreme Court’s order to reverse his declaration of four seats as vacant—an action that, by implication, gave the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament the majority caucus status.
“It was the Speaker of Parliament who unconstitutionally made the proclamation,” Hammond stated, criticizing Bagbin’s decision.
“The Supreme Court has told him that he was wrong, ‘restore matters to what they were before you did that.’ We would cite him for contempt… The Supreme Court has spoken; we want the decision of the Supreme Court to be respected,” he fumed.
Hammond emphasized that the Speaker’s actions were “unconstitutional, unlawful, and illegal.”
Background
Speaker Alban Bagbin once again suspended Parliament’s sitting indefinitely due to the absence of NPP MPs, who boycotted the proceedings on November 7, 2024.
Bagbin explained that the session had to be suspended as the House lacked the necessary quorum for decision-making and that no agenda had been presented due to the Business Committee’s failure to meet.
Bagbin expressed disappointment at the NPP MPs’ absence, noting that he summoned Parliament at the request of their leadership.
This indefinite suspension follows a similar adjournment on October 22, 2024, after the NPP MPs walked out when NDC MPs occupied the majority seats.
Previously, Speaker Bagbin declared four seats vacant after petitions from NDC MPs, as the affected MPs were set to contest the upcoming December 2024 elections as independents or on other party tickets.
Bagbin’s declaration shifted the parliamentary majority to the NDC. However, the Supreme Court stayed his ruling on October 18, 2024, pending further review, following a challenge by the leader of the NPP caucus, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin.
The affected seats include those held by Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).
BAI/OGB
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