Ghana’s parliament suspended indefinitely

Although he did not disclose the full contents of the Supreme Court’s communication, Alban Bagbin chose to suspend the sitting due to insufficient attendance, local reports say.

His decision follows recent events involving four members of parliament (MPs) who have declared their intentions to contest in the country’s upcoming elections as independent candidates.

Speaker Alban Bagbin declared the four seats vacant after receiving a petition from the former minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.

Haruna Iddrisu, citing Article 97 (1) (g) of the Constitution argued that the MPs, by their declaration had forfeited their positions.

The Speaker’s ruling briefly shifted the balance of power in Parliament, making the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which was on the minority side of parliament the Majority.

Before declaring the seats vacant, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) side of the House had 138 seats, while the NDC had 137. With the order, however, NPP got short of 4 seats.

However, the ruling was challenged by Majority Leader and member of the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) Alexander Afenyo-Markin through a suit at the Supreme Court.

He filed an injunction seeking an order to stay the execution of the Speaker's order, leading to a temporary order from the court on October 18. The Supreme Court ordered the four MPs to continue serving until the case is fully resolved.

Meanwhile, NDC MPs maintain that they will uphold Bagbin’s initial decision, which they argue effectively makes them the Majority in Parliament.

This stance, however, remains in opposition to the Supreme Court’s directive that prevents the enforcement of Bagbin’s ruling until the legal dispute is settled.