Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has firmly stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) will not occupy the minority seats in Parliament, as the country awaits a Supreme Court ruling on a contentious issue surrounding Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision regarding four vacant seats in the House.
Afenyo-Markin’s comments came on the heels of the Supreme Court’s adjournment on Monday, November 11, with the final judgment on the case expected to be delivered on Tuesday, November 12. The case centres on Speaker Bagbin’s declaration that four parliamentary seats are vacant, a decision that has sparked political tension and raised concerns over the constitutional powers of the Speaker.
Addressing the media after the court’s adjournment, Afenyo-Markin explained that the NPP MPs would never occupy the seats designated for the Minority, even temporarily.
He said that doing so would be seen as undermining the NPP’s position and demoralizing his colleagues. He added that such a move would send the wrong message to both Parliament and the public.
“The council of state reached out to me again that they have spoken to Mr Speaker, and he concedes that he has not made a ruling and that the NDC will move to their own seat; he gave them that assurance. The council of state communicated that to us and if in all this Mr Speaker decides to [not comply], what should I do?
“I should go and sit in the minority seat? Spiritually it is not even good. You have three weeks to election. I should go and sit on the minority side. Is that my seat? I will not go and sit there. I will never do it. That is not my rightful place.
“I should go to the minority side, spiritually make myself a minority person and bind my colleagues? We will not do that. No NPP person will do that,” he stated.
He argued that occupying the Minority seats, even temporarily, could send a signal of division and would complicate the already tense political climate.
The Majority Leader’s decision to firmly reject occupying the minority seats comes as tensions rise within Parliament over the Speaker’s actions and the broader implications of the vacant seats dispute.
The case, which questions the constitutional authority of the Speaker to declare the seats vacant without judicial review, is one of the most contentious legal issues currently unfolding in Ghana’s Parliament.
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