Speaker Bagbin adjourns Parliament indefinitely amid majority dispute

Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, announced on Tuesday afternoon that although Parliament had sufficient numbers to conduct its business, it lacked the quorum required to take decisions.

This followed a walkout by the NPP caucus over a disagreement regarding which side should occupy the Majority and Minority sections of the House.

Upon Speaker Bagbin’s arrival in the chamber, he began the session with prayers and corrections of the previous minutes. Before proceeding, he addressed the issue of quorum, stating, “Based on the numbers I see in the House, we have the numbers to conduct business but not to take decisions.”

He cited Article 102 of the Constitution, explaining, “A quorum of Parliament, apart from the person presiding, shall be one-third of all the Members of Parliament.”

However, he noted that the requirements of Article 104, which necessitates a majority vote with at least half of all MPs present to make decisions, had not been met. “We don’t have at least half of all the Members of Parliament present,” Rt. Hon. Bagbin stated.

Given the unresolved dispute over the composition of Parliament and in consideration of public interest, Speaker Bagbin invoked Standing Order 59 and announced the indefinite adjournment of Parliament.

“In view of the current circumstances and the exigencies of the state of affairs in Parliament, I will proceed to, in accordance with Standing Orders 59, adjourn the House indefinitely, that is, sine die.” 

“I have consulted leadership, and I am exercising my discretion to decide to suspend the meeting of the House indefinitely. The House is accordingly adjourned sine die,” he declared.

The dispute began after Speaker Bagbin declared four parliamentary seats vacant, citing the affected MPs’ decision to contest the upcoming elections in different capacities. In response, the NPP, led by Alexander Afenyo-Markin, filed a motion at the Supreme Court to halt the Speaker’s ruling. The Court directed the Speaker to pause the ruling’s implementation.

Meanwhile, the NDC argued that, based on the Speaker’s initial ruling, their 136 seats made them the new majority, while the NPP, with 135 seats, disagreed, citing the Supreme Court’s directive. This disagreement led the NPP to walk out when the NDC occupied the majority seats.