Bagbin Is ‘Mad’…Accuses Judiciary and Executive of colluding to weaken Parliament

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has said that his observations of the workings of the Executive and Judiciary arms of government have revealed that there is a seeming collaboration between the two government institutions to weaken the legislature.

This, he noted, has been demonstrated through acts of interference in the workings of the legislature, a situation the Speaker said “pose a direct challenge to the essence, jurisdiction, authority, powers and functioning of the esteemed institution of Parliament, which is the repository of the sovereign will of the people of Ghana”.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 over recent happenings in the House, which is largely influenced by litigation on proceedings of Parliament in court, the Speaker noted that the country was threading on a dangerous path, as there appears to be power play between the arms of governments; the Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary.

At a recent plenary sitting and meetings of Parliament, the Speaker adjourned sine die over lack of quorum to take a decision created by a walkout staged by the Majority Caucus of the House, when the NDC Minority Caucus took over their seats and proclaimed to be the Majority Caucus.

This incident, which happened on October 15, 2024 was triggered by a statement made by the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, on a matter he considered to be of urgent public importance, which had to do with the filing of nomination of five Members of Parliament (MPs) as Independent Candidates in the 2024 general elections, and prayed the Speaker to make a ruling on it.

Out of the five MPs who had filed to contest the 2024 parliamentary elections as independent candidates, four are from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) while the remaining one is from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Speaker Bagbin communicated his ruling on the issue two days thereafter (October 17, 2024), declaring the five seats of the MPs vacant and the process, automatically making the Majority Caucus now Minority and the Minority becoming Majority, as their number strength now stands at 134:136.

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin disagreed vehemently with the ruling of the Speaker and proceeded to advance an earlier action he had commenced in the Supreme Court to prevent Rt. Hon. Bagbin from receiving and making any pronouncement on the subject matter that was advanced by Dr. Ato Forson until the final determination of the matter by the Supreme Court.

Alexander Afenyo Markin secured a ruling in his favour and the Speaker was served with the ruling by the Supreme Court.

However,  the Speaker filed an application praying  the Supreme Court to overturn its earlier ruling suspending his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant. The Speaker questioned the Court’s jurisdiction and objected to Justice Ernest Gaewu’s inclusion due to his previous NPP affiliation. But the Court upheld its decision.

Speaker Bagbin admits that the power struggle has the potential to undermine the country’s democracy and the authority of parliament. He added that such is the situation and context he finds himself in.

The Executive and the Judiciary, he added, have sinned, demanding that they purge themselves from their wrongs.

He said the decision of the Ghanaian voters in the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections was loud and clear to all as they opted for inclusivity, collaboration, consensus building, and leaving nobody behind.

In the view of Speaker Bagbin, it was about time each arm of government respected its jurisdiction and refrain from interfering in the workings of the legislature.