Prime News Ghana

Vacant seats controversy: Parliament reconvenes today

By Vincent Ashitey
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Parliament is expected to reconvene today, November 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., following Speaker Alban Bagbin’s order.

This session will be held at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre, where lawmakers will resume discussions delayed for several weeks.

The sitting is expected to address pressing unresolved issues, following a prolonged standoff in the House over the declaration of four seats as vacant.

The situation escalated when the Speaker adjourned the session after the Minority caucus occupied the Majority side of the House, leveraging their numerical advantage in response to the Speaker’s ruling.

Speaker Alban Bagbin addressed the media on Wednesday ahead of today’s session, focusing on the deadlock that has sparked public concern.

According to him, there is no constitutional crisis in Ghana amid the controversy over vacant seats.

He emphasized that the situation is a constitutional matter under control and urged the public to remain calm.

Bagbin alleged that the current impasse reflects a collusion between the Executive and Judiciary to undermine the authority of Parliament.

He maintained that Parliament has the constitutional right to revoke the seats of four MPs who have crossed party lines or declared their intention to run as independents in the upcoming elections.

According to Bagbin, these actions by the MPs compromise their allegiance to their parties, justifying Parliament’s stance to declare the seats vacant.

Bagbin emphasized that this conflict represents a challenge to parliamentary independence, stressing that efforts to limit Parliament’s authority set a troubling precedent for Ghana’s democracy.