I can’t force Speaker to recall Parliament – Afenyo-Markin

The Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu Constituency in the Central Region, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has stated that he cannot force the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to reconvene the House if he chooses otherwise.

Nonetheless, he said he would use constitutional means to address the NPP caucus’ grievances.

He said, “I cannot force him. I will use constitutional means, and if he shuts the doors, it’s up to him.”

The MP’s comment comes after the Speaker rejected his side’s request for a recall of Parliament.

In an earlier memo written by the Majority Caucus to Mr. Bagbin, Afenyo-Markin asked him to reconvene Parliament to enable them to address critical state matters and conduct government business.

However, in his response, the Speaker rejected the request to reconvene the House immediately but stated that he could only recall the House after the 7th December election.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin says that for now, the governing MPs are focused on the election to ensure that the NPP retains power with a clear majority in Parliament.

“For the next week, we will focus on the elections with a determined mind to win and win well for Parliament and our flagbearer, so that if they continue being difficult and acting autocratically, we know that we have a government in waiting to implement these important policies,” he told Joy News’ Elton Brobbey in an interview.

For the past two months, Parliament has been in a state of uncertainty due to disagreements over a decision by the Speaker to declare four seats vacant.

The issue arose when Mr. Bagbin ruled that four seats—three NPP and one NDC—were no longer occupied, as the holders of those seats decided to contest this year’s election as independent candidates rather than representing the political parties that had sent them to Parliament.

The ruling, which was not well received by the majority caucus in Parliament, compelled the NPP, led by its leader Afenyo-Markin, to take the case to the Supreme Court for constitutional interpretation and a possible reversal of the Speaker’s ruling.

After court hearings over several weeks, the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-2 decision, declaring that the Speaker’s ruling declaring the seats vacant was unconstitutional and could not stand.

This series of events has left Parliament in a state of uncertainty, as Mr. Bagbin has not recalled the House despite the court’s verdict.