Rumpus In Parliament

Parliament ended on a very ill tempered note last week. The rumpus began on Thursday when the Speaker made a statement in the House complaining about accusations made against him by the NDC at a press conference the previous day. The NDC had accused him of conspiring with the Electoral Commission (EC) to proceed with a bye-election in the Wulensi Constituency even though a vacancy had not properly been declared in Parliament.

The Wulensi case is currently pending a review before the Supreme Court. The Speaker was clearly livid with rage and in his statement directly accused Minority Leader Alban Bagbin of leaking letters that had been exchanged between them on the Wulensi issue to the media. Contrary to all laws of natural justice and fairplay, the Speaker refused to recognize Bagbin when he rose to respond to the accusations. While Bagbin persisted by continuing to stand in his place, the Speaker chose to ignore him and proceed with the day’s business. This angered the NDC backbench and sparked a walkout from the chamber.
The Minority Leader returned to his office and proceeded to give an interview to the Parliamentary Press Corps where he uttered the now famous “I will go after him” phrase. Bagbin clearly enraged by the Speaker’s attack on him and refusal to allow him to respond threatened to attack the Speaker’s integrity too.
A quick meeting of the Minority Leadership decided that the Minority Leader should apply to the Speaker to be allowed to present a personal statement on the floor of the House to set the record straight.
The following morning after conferring with the Speaker and showing him a copy of the statement, the Minority Leader proceeded to read. As if by some pre-rehearsed design, just after he had read the opening sentence, the Hon. Darko Mensah MP for Okaikwei North rose on a point of order. He asserted that the statement the Minority Leader was going to read impinged on the conduct of the Speaker and the standing orders require that he come by way of a substantive motion. This threw the house into a state of commotion. The speaker did not help matter when he agreed with the Hon Member for Okaikwei North by saying that he recognizes the statement to be improper, but not wanting to sit in judgement over his own case has decided to allow the statement to be made. This sparked revolt on the Majority backbench and not even the intervention of the Majority Leader Papa Owusu Ankomah could calm matters. As a result of the commotion, the Speaker had no option but to suspend business of the House to allow tempers to cool.
The rumpus in Parliament last week prevented a debate on a much awaited private members motion relating to the recent petroleum price increases from being taken.
The vexed issue of Wulensi and the rumpus in Parliament are all lessons that help to clarify our understanding of the constitution and the importance of procedure in our fledgling democratic culture. The process for proceeding to a bye-election by the standing orders is for the Speaker to declare a vacancy in the House, following information on the death of a member, resignation, or a successful election petition against a member. The Clerk of Parliament takes his cue from the declaration of such a vacancy by the Speaker and writes to the Electoral Commission informing them of the vacancy. The EC then proceeds with the arrangements for the conduct of a bye-election in the constituency in question.
Despite all the legal rigmarole, the Speaker cannot escape blame for the confusion generated over the Wulensi bye-election. It was the Speakers minute to the Clerk of Parliament on a letter from the Attorney General that prompted the Clerk to write to the EC about the occurrence of a vacancy at Wulensi. In his statement to the House, the Speaker stated quite clearly that he had made no declaration of a vacancy in the Wulensi seat as required by the standing orders because of a notification about a pending review application before the Supreme Court. The Speaker therefore has a bounden duty to formally notify the Clerk of Parliament that no such vacancy exists based on which the Clerk will write a corrective letter to the EC withdrawing his earlier letter.
The EC’s position is clear and simple. It has received correspondence from the Clerk of Parliament notifying it of a vacancy in the Wulensi seat as required by the constitution. The EC upon receipt of such a letter must proceed with the process for filling the vacancy unless fresh correspondence is received from the Clerk to the contrary. Between the Speaker and the Clerk of Parliament there is the need to clear the mess that has been caused by the miscommunication between them.
The net effect of the EC proceeding with the Wulensi bye-election is to prejudice the pending review before the SC. It sort of implies that the result of the review is a foregone conclusion. In any case however if the SC surprisingly reverses its earlier decision, will the printing of ballot papers and other operational expenses not represent a significant financial loss to the state? And won’t the Clerk of Parliament and the Speaker deserve to be hauled before the Fast Track Court for causing such financial loss? And for his unconstitutional letter, which triggered all the current confusion, can’t the Attorney General be joined in the suit for prosecution?
The Minority has resolved that the Minority Leader should go on and read his statement on the floor when Parliament reconvenes on Wednesday. The Minority’s position is clear and simple. The laws of natural justice and the rules and practice of the House demand that a Member whose integrity has been impugned deserves the right to clear his name. Additionally, the statement to be read was presented to the Speaker and properly admitted on the floor. The Speaker further overruled the objection raised by the Hon Darko Mensah and asked the Minority Leader to carry on.
It is difficult to predict what Wednesday would bring. The matter may be brought to closure by the Minority Leader being allowed to make his statement or the confusion will continue if he is prevented from doing so. Meanwhile the business for this week has renewal of the Dagbon State of Emergency scheduled for Wednesday and the President’s Address on the State of the Nation scheduled for Thursday. It is hoped that the rumpus in Parliament would be quickly brought to an amicable closure in order not to create any disruption of the business of the House during the week.
At press time the news has just come through that the Hon. Member of Parliament for Gomoa East was killed in a motor accident over the weekend. This is clearly one too many. Parliament has lost 3 members over the short space of two years. The 1st Reo Basoa MP for Kumawu died after a long illness. The body of John Achuliwor MP for Navrongo Central is still in the morgue following a fatal accident on the Accra-Kumasi road. The death of Hon. Emmanuel Acheampong MP for Gomoa East in a car accident on the Swedru road is a tragic loss for Parliament. It is a grim coincidence that all these deaths have occurred on the Majority side. An accident involving NDC MPs Hon Cletus Avoka and Hon Moses Asaga at Mankranso junction was prevented from being fatal as a result of the deployment of the airbags of the Nissan Terrano vehicle they were driving and the fact that they were wearing their seatbelts.
The job of an MP by its nature involves a lot of travel. It is necessary for MPs to regulate the speed at which their drivers travel. They must also always ensure that they are strapped in with their seatbelts at all times. MPs must as much as possible, avoid travelling at night. It may also be useful for Parliament to sponsor a course on defensive driving for all the drivers of Members of Parliament.
In the last Parliament not a single life was lost. For the deeply religious there might be recommendations of intercessory prayers to remove any adversity that is claiming such a toll in Parliament. The traditionalist may also recommend some purification rites to remove any jinx, which may have wrongly found its way into the House. Whatever it is, commonsense in driving and good healthcare may help in abating any further calamities in the ranks of the honourable members.

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