Following the ongoing stand-off between the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, and the Supreme Court regarding the vacant parliamentary seats, the founder of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has stated that he is “absolutely ecstatic” about the development.
He made this remark on Wednesday, 30th October, during a Facebook Live conversation. According to him, he feels ecstatic because, “Finally, people are beginning to understand the power of Parliament and what it is supposed to be for us.”
“I have been telling the Progressive People’s Party to pay attention to Parliament. Some of you should try to go to Parliament. Imagine if there was one member of the PPP in Parliament; the next Parliament would be wonderful. We would put all the research, all the thinking and support behind him or her to deal with what goes on in this country in the right way.”
Dr Nduom also remarked that this impasse clearly shows that the three arms of government are functioning, but one should not oppress the other, stating, “In the three arms of government, one shouldn’t suppress the other and say, ‘Because you are implementing your standing orders, I have something against that.’”
He expressed disagreement with how the Supreme Court has been handling the case, saying, “If the Speaker or Parliament as a whole is implementing Parliament's standing orders, leave them to do that. That’s the power they have because Parliament is an independent arm of government.”
The businessman emphasised that he was pleased with the situation. “There is this slim majority that is there, and I hope it continues to wake everybody up and ensure that the executives do not act as they please by some automatic fiat.”
The Supreme Court has suspended the Speaker’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant after Members of the affected constituencies declared their intention to contest the upcoming December polls as independent candidates.
This situation has led to confusion over who occupies the majority position in the chamber, as three out of the four affected seats belong to the governing NPP.
However, Alban Bagbin has filed a suit at the same Supreme Court requesting that the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, overturn the ruling.
Following a day-long hearing on Tuesday, the case has been adjourned to 11th November.
Credit: Albert Kuzor