The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has addressed criticisms from Members of Parliament regarding his decision to adjourn parliamentary proceedings indefinitely on November 7, 2024. This decision followed an earlier adjournment on October 22 and has sparked sharp reactions from some MPs, particularly from the Majority side.
Leader of the NPP caucus and MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin was particularly vocal in condemning the Speaker’s actions. He described the indefinite adjournment as damaging to parliamentary processes and detrimental to Ghana’s democratic principles.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the absence of Majority MPs from the recall session, initiated by their own caucus, and the failure of the Business Committee to meet, creating a lack of an Order Paper, should not have led to the indefinite adjournment. Speaking to the media, he accused Speaker Bagbin of exacerbating disorder in Parliament.
“What Mr. Speaker did today amounts to supervising chaos and bringing the image of our democracy into disrepute. The NDC minority members were all over, claiming that we, the Majority, did not attend a so-called Business Committee meeting that they called. Clearly, the NDC is on a warpath. They want confusion in this country. They want lawlessness in this country. And all of this is being supervised by Mr. Speaker. It is sad.”
In response, during the first parliamentary sitting after the December 7 general elections, Speaker Bagbin expressed disappointment with the criticism. He defended his decision, arguing that those challenging it might not have fully grasped his reasoning.
“Those who believe I erred in my ruling may need to be taken to school. I am not sure they read the ruling very well, and that ruling worked in their favour. Honourable Majority Leader, it actually worked in your favour. For you to come here and try to impugn that ruling, I was truly surprised. The public is listening to us and could be misled. I gave about three reasons for my decision, and I am sure you did not pay attention to the third reason why I adjourned the meeting indefinitely.
“I listened to some of you debate this matter on air, and I thought you should have been commending me for adjourning it, but instead, you were condemning me. It saddened me, but I understand the arena we are in, so I have taken it in my stride.”Bagbin explained that his decision was supported by three key reasons, emphasizing that critics likely overlooked the third, which justified the adjournment.
“I followed some of the discussions on this issue in the media, expecting commendation for the decision to adjourn. Instead, I was met with condemnation. It was disappointing, though I understand the nature of politics and have taken it in stride,” the Speaker added.
He also highlighted the importance of educating MPs on parliamentary rules and procedures to prevent the public from being misled.
“As we go along, we will have to deepen the orientation and training of Members of Parliament so that the public does not become confused by you, the leaders who should know better, but instead end up misleading them.”
