Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has expressed the view that the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, should not have openly endorsed Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin for the Speakership position of the 9th Parliament.

He believes that the letter from the Office of the President-elect announcing the endorsement of Bagbin should have come from Members of Parliament. Afterward, the President-elect could have freely announced his endorsement of their choice.

In his post, he stated, “It would have been more proper if the attached letter read as follows: ‘The Members of Parliament-elect of the National Democratic Congress, [having consulted with the National Executive of the Party], have agreed collectively to support the nomination and re-election of the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of the 8th Parliament, as Speaker of the 9th Parliament.’”

John Dramani Mahama, in his letter, called on Members of Parliament to nominate Alban Sumana Bagbin for the Speakership position of the 9th Parliament.

Read his post below:

“Choosing the Speaker of Parliament, head of the second branch of the State, is a constitutional duty and prerogative of Members of an incoming Parliament voting individually by secret ballot.

It is to be expected that the President, as head of Government, would have a strong interest and influence in the choice of Speaker, as the occupant of the Speaker’s chair must work closely with the President and his Ministers to ensure the smooth running of government. In particular, where, as in the incoming Parliament, the party of the President also controls an overwhelming majority of the seats in Parliament, the President’s preference for Speaker should be expected to carry great weight in the MPs’ decision.

So, there is nothing wrong with the President publicly expressing and indicating his preference for Speaker and urging or admonishing support for a candidate. However, we must not entrench the impression or practice in the 4th Republic where the Speaker is seen as a nominee of the President, as this press release implies. This perception is one of the legacies of our ‘Imperial Presidency,’ which further subordinates the Legislature to the Executive. We should move away from this.

It would have been more proper if the attached letter read as follows: ‘The Members of Parliament-elect of the National Democratic Congress, [having consulted with the National Executive of the Party], have agreed collectively to support the nomination and re-election of the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of the 8th Parliament, as Speaker of the 9th Parliament.’

The President-elect could then freely announce his endorsement of this choice. But for the President-elect to ‘mandate’? What is that?!

What is worth doing is worth doing properly.

Having said that, I congratulate the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, Speaker of the 8th Parliament, on securing the support of the Majority Party in the incoming Parliament for his re-election as Speaker of the 9th Parliament of the Republic of Ghana.”

Watch as Akufo-Addo touts Ghana's economy as resilient contrary to claims of 'being broke'