Tamale Central Member of Parliament (MP), Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, has stated that there is currently no majority or minority caucus in Ghana's Parliament.
According to him, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) hold an equal number of seats, rendering claims of a clear majority irrelevant.
Speaking on JoyFM's Top Story on Tuesday, November 12, Mr Mohammed argued that although the NPP considers independent MP, Andrew Asiamah Amoako as part of their side, he is not formally a member of the NPP caucus.
"Do we have a majority party in Parliament?" he asked. "Is the independent member a member of the NPP?”
He explained that the independent MP’s decision to sit with the NPP side does not automatically make him an NPP member, thus keeping the numbers balanced between the two parties.
Mr Mohammed's remarks follow a recent Supreme Court ruling, delivered by a 5-2 majority on November 12, declaring Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to vacate four parliamentary seats as unconstitutional.
This ruling effectively repositions the NPP caucus as the majority, undoing an earlier declaration that had previously given the NDC caucus the upper hand.
Chief Justice Lovelace Johnson and Justice Ahmadu Tanko dissented on the jurisdiction, but the court’s decision favoured the plaintiff’s case, with full details to be filed by November 13.
In light of this, Mr Mohammed emphasised that neither the Standing Orders of Parliament nor the Constitution clearly designates a majority or minority caucus based on seating arrangement.
“By the Constitution and the Standard Orders and by what we have in Parliament, do we have the party that has more members than the other political party in Parliament,” he questioned, adding, “The independent Member of Parliament agreed to sit and in voting with NPP, it doesn't make a member of the NPP."
Meanwhile, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on Speaker Bagbin and the NDC caucus to respect the Supreme Court's decision.
“This is a moment for all of us to rally around the choice we made in 1992 democracy. Democracy requires decency, and that is the path the NPP majority caucus took to ensure that we do right to the law.
“We want nothing more except to say that we expect our colleagues on the other side [NDC], including Mr Speaker, to respect the outcome of this case so that we'll move on as a nation,” he said.
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