Private legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has said that the NDC legislators are waiting for their colleague NPP members to give them a “showdown” in the House today.
According to the Member of Parliament, members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were taking “their rightful position” of the House as Majority caucus in anticipation to what members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) would come with.
Ahead of the House’s sitting today, Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Onua TV’s Akua Sarpomaa reported on Maakye, the morning show, that when she approached the Deputy leader of the NDC caucus, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, to engage him on their expectations today, he said he was not ready to speak at the moment.
“Onua [TV], we will talk but not now,” said the Ellembelle Member of Parliament.
According to her, the Madina MP who passed by at the moment said “we won’t talk now. We are going to enter and occupy the Majority seats and when the NPP comes, we will give them a showdown.”
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.
Declaration of 4 seats vacant: What’s good for the goose is good for the gander – Dr. Draman
