The Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, K.T. Hammond, has accused Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin of disregarding a recent Supreme Court ruling by failing to enforce the directive that National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs sit on the Minority side.
His comments came following Bagbin’s decision to adjourn the House indefinitely after New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs, who initially called for the session, failed to attend.
Speaking to the media after the adjournment, K.T. Hammond emphasized the need for adherence to the Supreme Court’s ruling, which temporarily reinstated NPP members to their contested seats and defined the caucus configuration in Parliament.
Hammond argued that the Speaker’s refusal to direct NDC MPs to sit on the Minority side was not only a disregard for the Supreme Court’s directive but also a violation of parliamentary norms.
“The decision of the Supreme Court is to be respected. It is not a question of acknowledgement, it is a question of implementation of the decision of the Supreme Court.
“The Speaker made a ruling. It was unconstitutional and unlawful and by any account, it was illegal. The Supreme Court contrary to the assertion by him and some members of the minority who keep proclaiming from high heavens that parliament is a master of its own rules and regulations.
“The Supreme Court told Bagbin and parliament that you are not, there is an institution which is the master of the rules of parliament and that this is when the law states. You cannot make the proclamation that you made.
“It will be in the interest of the Ghanaians for the Speaker to respect the ruling of the supreme court, and come back to this house rather than continuously adjourning sitting. He is disrespecting the ruling of the Supreme Court,” he stated.
The Supreme Court, in October 2024, ruled on a stay of execution on Speaker Bagbin’s ruling, which declared four seats vacant after he approved a motion filed by Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
The ruling invoked constitutional provisions that mandate MPs who seek to run as independent candidates to vacate their seats.
Bagbin adjourns Parliament indefinitely after NPP caucus boycott recall
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