In response to mounting demands from the Majority Caucus, Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has summoned the House to reconvene on November 7, 2024, at the Grand Arena, Accra International Conference Centre. This decision comes after the Speaker’s indefinite adjournment of Parliament in October, amid legal and political disputes regarding vacant seats and a high-stakes government agenda awaiting parliamentary action.
The Majority Caucus, led by Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip Alex Tetteh Djornobuah, had formally petitioned the Speaker to recall Parliament, citing pressing legislative matters. Djornobuah’s memorandum outlined three key issues: a tax exemption request under the One District One Factory initiative, a $250 million International Development Association facility to operationalize the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, and the urgent consideration of six pending bills. These bills include the Environmental Protection Agency Bill, 2024, and the Budget Bill, 2023, which are deemed essential for economic and environmental reforms.
The call for Parliament’s immediate resumption reflects the complex interplay between legislative demands and ongoing legal battles. Speaker Bagbin’s earlier decision to adjourn the House followed the Supreme Court’s issuance of a restraining order preventing him from executing a ruling that declared four MPs’ seats vacant. This move came after the MPs—Cynthia Morrison (NPP, Agona West), Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah (NDC, Amenfi Central), Kwadwo Asante (NPP, Suhum), and Andrew Asiamah Amoako (Independent, Fomena)—filed to contest the 2024 elections on different tickets, contrary to their current affiliations.
The Supreme Court’s intervention placed a hold on the Speaker’s declaration, demanding that any decision regarding the MPs’ seats await proper judicial review. Speaker Bagbin’s indefinite adjournment had stirred public debate, with some political analysts viewing it as a necessary pause to address uncertainties in parliamentary composition, while others saw it as an impediment to critical government business.
With Parliament set to resume, attention now shifts to the balancing act Speaker Bagbin must perform to address both legislative and constitutional issues. Djornobuah’s appeal emphasized the national interest, framing the Majority Caucus’s request as a means to “enable the government to discharge its constitutional and democratic obligations to the people of Ghana.”
