Brouhaha in Parliament: Majority caucus gathers 83 signatures… to initiate recall of House

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Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament

The Majority Caucus in Parliament has gathered the required signatures to recall the House from its indefinite adjournment.

In all, the caucus collected 83 signatures to trigger Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution which requires 15 per cent of all members – which translates into 42 MPs – to recall the House.

Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament

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Mr Afenyo Markin

Article 112(3) provide that “notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, 15 per cent of Members of Parliament may request a meeting of Parliament and the Speaker shall, within seven days after the receipt of the request, summon Parliament.”

The recall comes barely 24 hours after the Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, adjourned the House sine die, citing the lack of decision-making quorum, and the mood of the country.

In a recall memo addressed to the Speaker, the Majority Chief Whip and MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, said the recall is in the uttmost good faith and in the national interest.

“We wish to emphasize that this recall is made in utmost good faith and in the national interest to enable the Government to discharge its constitutional and democratic obligations to the people of Ghana.

“The matters outlined in here are of pressing importance and require the urgent attention of Parliament,” the recall notice said.

According to Mr Annoh-Dompreh, the scheduled businesses include request for tax exemptions for designated beneficiaries under the one district one factory programme, and a US$250 million International Development Association facility for the Ghana Financial Stability Fund.

Bills, including Environmental Protection Agency Bill, 2024, Social Protection Bill, 2024, Budget Bill, 2023, Ghana Boundary Commission Bill, 2024, and Intestate Succession Bill, 2022.

The indefinite adjournment was necessitated by the ruling of the Supreme Court for the Speaker to suspend his ruling which declared four seats vacant.

The seats are Agona West, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, (NPP); Suhum MP, Kwadwo Asante (NPP); Amenfi Central, Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah (NDC) and Andrew Asiamah Amoako (Independent).

All but the Fomena MP, who is contesting the election on the ticket of the NPP, are going independent.