Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the Acting Clerk to Parliament, has declared that Tuesday, January 7, 2025, will mark the inaugural meeting of the Ninth Parliament under the Fourth Republic.

The election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers will be the main topic of the session, which is set to begin at 12:05 a.m. at Parliament House in Accra. This initial session will also include the administration of oaths to the Speaker and Members of Parliament.

The Parliamentary Service issued a formal notification announcing the announcement, which stated:

KNOW YE ALL MEN that in the exercise of the powers granted to the Clerk to Parliament, I, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Acting Clerk to Parliament, appointed under Article 124 of the Constitution and in accordance with Order 8(2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, hereby designate Parliament House, Accra, as the location and the time at which Parliament will convene on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 5 minutes past midnight (12:05 a.m.), in order to elect a Speaker and Deputy Speakers and to administer oaths to the Speaker and Members of the Ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

Debate over whether President-elect John Dramani Mahama's incoming administration will keep current Speaker Alban Bagbin or choose a new nominee has heated up as Parliament gets ready for this historic occasion.

Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader of the eighth Parliament, has emphasized the value of parliamentary competence in his argument that the next Speaker should be an elected Member of Parliament (MP). In response, he said: "Mr. Speaker, if they fire you

They are going to fire you, Mr. Speaker, despite everything you have done for them. The joy of this House will get more impetus if they choose to keep you.

But if the next administration does want to appoint a new Speaker, it should be someone from within. An outsider is not what we desire. We are looking for someone who understands us from within.

As Ghana's political leadership begins a new chapter under the Mahama government, its inaugural sitting is anticipated to lay the groundwork for the Ninth Parliament's legislative agenda.

Source: GraphicOnline