Vacant seats controversy: Speaker adjourns Parliament indefinitely again

Alban Bagbin has adjourned Parliament indefinitely for the second time. On Thursday, November 7, when the House reconvened after an earlier adjournment on October 22, the NPP caucus was not present in the Chamber, leading to the Speaker’s adjournment.

Alban Bagbin, while addressing MPs in the chamber, said there is no quorum to be formed for the House to transact business as the NPP MPs were absent.

According to Bagbin, the Business Committee failed to present a business order for the House, so Parliament had nothing to deliberate on, leading to the indefinite adjournment.

“We have no business before us to transact… In view of the failure of the business committee to sit as a result of a refusal of those who requested a recall, we are once again adjourning the House. I proceed once more to adjourn the meeting indefinitely,” Bagbin stated.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus in Parliament requested an emergency recall of Parliament after Bagbin adjourned the House indefinitely on Tuesday, October 22 owing to the boycott of Parliament by the NPP MPs and the subsequent lack of quorum for the House to sit.

In a memo addressed to the Speaker, the NPP Caucus highlighted some important government business that has to be approved.

“We respectfully request that, upon recall of the House, the following urgent government business be deliberated upon and transacted, including any other business that comes before the House,” the Caucus said in a memo to the Speaker.

However, after Bagbin had heeded the Caucus’ plea, the NPP MPs failed to be present in the Chamber on November 7 and did not present the business order for which they had wanted the House to be recalled.

Leader of the NDC caucus in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, explained that his side of the House was present at the Business Committee meeting only to find out that the NPP MPs on the Committee did not show up.

Speaking to the media shortly after the adjournment of the House, Ato Forson noted that although he reached out to the NPP on the matter, no MP responded.

“This morning at about seven o’clock, we showed up at the business committee meeting, and we noticed that the NPP members of the business committee once again failed to show up.

“I called the committee clerk, and I was informed that she is out of the jurisdiction and no one had called to inform her about the business of the day.

“I was worried and reached out to the NPP side to indicate as to what their plan is, but no one responded,” Ato Forson explained.