NDC had the shortest living parliamentary majority in history – Bawumia teases

Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, says that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) holds the record for the shortest tenure as the majority in Ghana’s parliamentary history.

He made this statement during his campaign in Nkawkaw, following the Supreme Court’s directive to stay the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin’s ruling that declared the seats of four Members of Parliament vacant for going independent ahead of the upcoming December 7 elections.

Dr Bawumia highlighted this as an example of what he sees as dubious ways that the NDC wants to use to capture political power.

“Two days ago, they said they [NDC MPs] were the Majority. Anyway, they were the Majority for only 24 hours. The shortest-living majority that I know of in history.

He added that if the NDC needs a majority, it can only attempt it through the 2024 elections.

“If you want to win the Majority, come to the polling station, come to the constituency, win an election and then go to parliament. You don’t sit in Parliament and manufacture a Majority for yourselves,” he added.

The NPP Presidential candidate was however confident that his party will sweep both the presidential and parliamentary race.

In the court’s decision on Friday, Parliament was instructed to recognise and allow the four MPs to fully represent their constituencies and carry out their official duties.

This directive will remain in effect, not for the 10 days initially requested by the applicants, but until the Supreme Court delivers its final ruling on the case.

The application to stay the Speaker’s decision was filed by NPP MPs, who sought the Court’s intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling that would have affected three of their colleagues and one from the NDC.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has accused the Supreme Court of overstepping its jurisdiction and acting prematurely in the recent decision.

Speaking on JoyNews‘ Newsfile on October 19, Dr. Ayine argued that the Court’s intervention was legally flawed and driven by a hasty attempt to assert its authority.

Dr. Ayine noted that the stay-of-execution mechanism only applies to judicial or quasi-judicial orders, which usually require an appeal to trigger the process.

However, in this case, there was no formal appeal or notice of appeal because the Speaker of Parliament did not allow a challenge, following parliamentary procedures.

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