Why we boycotted Parliament for the second time

The leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has explained his caucus’s absence from proceedings in Parliament on Thursday, November 7, 2024.

Speaking to the media after the Speaker of Parliament adjourned the meeting indefinitely, Afenyo-Markin accused the Speaker of betraying an agreement made prior to the sitting.

According to him, they had agreed that Speaker Alban Bagbin would address the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament as the Minority Caucus and instruct them to sit on the minority side of the House.

He claimed that the Speaker had assured certain stakeholders, including the Peace Council of Ghana, that his earlier declaration of four seats in Parliament as vacant no longer stood after the Supreme Court's order.

He stated that the NPP MPs chose not to appear in the House because they did not want to participate in what they perceived as lawlessness.

The NPP caucus leader further alleged that although the Clerk of Parliament had correctly labelled the Majority side of the House, the NDC MPs removed the labels and took over that side of the chamber.

He accused the Speaker of enabling the disorder in the House and endangering the country’s democratic process.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, once again suspended the sitting of the House sine die (indefinitely).

The suspension was due to the NPP MPs boycotting the House's sitting on Thursday, November 7, 2024.

The Speaker explained that he had to suspend the meeting indefinitely because the House did not have the numbers to make decisions.

He also said that there was no business before the House for consideration because the Business Committee of Parliament did not meet to present one to the plenary.

Bagbin expressed his frustration about the absence of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament because he summoned the House upon the request of the leadership of the MPs.

On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Alban Bagbin, adjourned the sitting of the House sine die (indefinitely), just a week after Members of Parliament reconvened following a long recess, citing a lack of quorum for decision-making after the NPP MPs boycotted proceedings.

The NPP MPs walked out of Parliament after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs took over the Majority side of the House.

The Speaker declared four seats in the House vacant after he was petitioned by NDC MPs following the decision of the affected MPs to contest the upcoming December 2024 elections as independents or on different party tickets.

The declaration would have shifted the balance of power in Parliament, making the NDC the majority party.

However, the Supreme Court stayed the Speaker’s ruling on October 18, 2024, pending further review after the leader of the NPP MPs, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, challenged Bagbin's declaration at the court.

The affected seats include those held by Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).