The Minority in Parliament has called on Speaker Alban Bagbin to reject the recall request made by the Majority following the indefinite adjournment of the House.
On Friday, November 22, the Majority petitioned Speaker Bagbin to reconvene the House before the end of November.
With just four days left in the month and 11 days before the December 7 election, the Speaker has yet to respond to the request.
However, the Minority contends that the request fails to meet the necessary constitutional and procedural requirements set out in Article 112(3) and Standing Order 53(1) of Parliament.
This was stated in a memo signed by Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, which noted that any recall must adhere to specific legal criteria, which, in this case, had not been met.
The Ajumako-Enyan-Assiam MP emphasized that the discretion to approve or reject the recall lies with the Speaker, particularly since the necessary threshold had not been reached.
“Respectfully, Mr. Speaker, we wish to submit that based on the petitioner’s own request, you are not obliged to recall Parliament.”
“Further, the petitioner has not demonstrated that there is any emergency nor urgent government business to warrant a recall of Parliament, with barely eleven (11) remaining days to the crucial 2024 General Election,” parts of the memo read.
