Dr. Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe, a founding member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has cautioned against a possible mayhem in Parliament today following the presence of the military in the House.
This is the second time the military has been in the House under the 8th Parliament after a similar incident happened in 2022 during the passage of the notorious Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) which resulted in fisticuffs.
Speaking on TV3 Tuesday, October 22, the former military officer questioned the orders upon which the military is present at the precincts of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) where Parliament is sitting today.
He says there is no way the military will move without the orders of its commanders. He has therefore warned that nothing untoward happens in Parliament looking at how far the country has come with its democracy.
His comments come on the back of the presence of the soldiers in Parliament on the morning of Tuesday, following what is expected to be a crucial sitting, with both sides of the House claiming to be the majority caucus.
“Those who do not know the history of this country today should not walk the country into a disaster,” he cautioned.
He added that “the military has no business with what’s happening now. On whose orders are they there? There is no way the Army will move without an order from its commanders. I wouldn’t want to talk much today because I’m so sad.”
His comments come on the back of the majority and minority conundrum in Parliament where both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) are claiming majority status.
The confusion follows a ruling by the Speaker of Parliament Thursday, October 17, 2024, where some four seats were declared vacant. The declaration, subsequently reduced the membership of the governing NPP, who were then Majority to 135, with the opposition NDC, who were the Minority, remaining with 136 members to assume the Majority position.
Leader of the NPP caucus, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, filed an ex parte motion in the Supreme Court, where it ruled to stay with the ruling of the Speaker.
This, has created a confusion since, with both caucuses claiming to be the majority side of the House.
With the House resuming sitting today, Tuesday, October 22, 2024, tensions have been high, especially with the same 8th Parliament already engaging in two fisticuffs already.
Parliament resumes today, Tuesday, October 22, since the Speaker’s ruling to declare four seats in the House vacant.
This was after they have switched allegiance to either contest as independent candidates or join a different political party in the upcoming December elections. But, the ruling, was quashed by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Friday, October 18, 2024, issued a stay of execution on the ruling by Speaker Alban Bagbin declaring the four parliamentary seats vacant.
The Court also directed Parliament to recognise and allow the four MPs to fully represent their constituencies and carry out their official duties.
The applicants had initially requested for a 10-day but the Supreme Court says they should carry on with their roles as MPs until the final ruling on the matter has been delivered.
The application to stay the Speaker’s decision was filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, who sought the Court’s intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling that would have affected three of their colleagues and one from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The application was filed ex parte, meaning that neither Speaker Bagbin nor Parliament was joined to the case.
The ex parte application made the Court consider the plaintiffs’ request without seeking any response from the Speaker or other parliamentary authorities at this stage.
The case was heard by a panel of Supreme Court justices presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo.
Other members of the panel included Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Kwame Adibu Asiedu, Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, and Justice Yaw Darko Asare, who together delivered the ruling to stay the Speaker’s decision.
Representing the NPP MPs were lawyers Paa Kwesi Abaidoo and former Attorney General Joe Ghartey.
They successfully argued for the stay, which temporarily halts the Speaker’s ruling pending further legal proceedings. The Court’s decision effectively keeps the four MPs’ seats intact in the meantime.
The ruling affected three NPP MPs made up of Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), and independent candidate who was doing business with the Majority, Andrew Asiamah (Fomena), and one NDC MP, Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central), who either chose to run as independent candidates or switched party affiliations for the 2024 elections.
As a result, the NDC, previously in the Minority, now becomes a majority with 136 seats with the NPP remaining with 135 seats now assuming minority.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision on the ex parte motion reverses the ruling of the Speaker until the final ruling on the matter is delivered.
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