Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has asserted that the Majority caucus will never occupy seats designated for the Minority in Parliament, following a critical Supreme Court ruling that halted Speaker Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.
On Monday, November 11, Afenyo-Markin expressed this stance after the Supreme Court announced it would issue a final decision on the contentious matter of the vacant seats on Tuesday, November 12.
The Majority Leader’s comments followed incidents where several Minority MPs occupied seats designated for the Majority during a recent parliamentary recall, sparking a standoff with calls from the Minority for the Majority caucus to defend their position against the Speaker’s actions.
The dispute centers on Speaker Bagbin’s recent declaration of four seats as vacant, claiming that MPs Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Andrew Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central) had violated constitutional mandates, thus justifying their removal.
However, Afenyo-Markin and other Majority members argue that the Speaker exceeded his authority by making this declaration without judicial review or calling for by-elections.
Addressing the media, Afenyo-Markin urged Speaker Bagbin to uphold parliamentary protocol, calling on him to have Minority MPs return the seats they have occupied to the rightful Majority members.
He emphasized that the Speaker’s actions have created an untenable situation that must be resolved within the constitutional framework.
“We will never take Minority seats, never,” Afenyo-Markin asserted.
“If we take those seats, it would symbolically make the NPP caucus the minority, which is unacceptable. The Minority should occupy their rightful seats. The Speaker must ensure the Minority sits in their rightful seats,” he added.
