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Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu has said that the Supreme Court’s ruling to allow Deputy Speakers to vote when presiding over proceedings of the House is likely to exacerbate the existing tension in Parliament.
According to him, the verdict is raising tension among his members which is likely to affect consensus building on government business.
He added that if this is proven to be the case, it “can be fatal for ruling, administration and governance.”
“I think President Akufo-Addo and the Majority leadership need to accept the simple reality of Ghana’s Constitutional revolution. That we have a hung Parliament, they don’t have comfort of numbers. They need to consult more, deepen consultation and work at cooperation rather than live in this erroneous impression of a Minority dictatorship. We are not dictating to them, we simply saying that engage us more and engage to get our buy-in, but not through such a disappointing ruling,” he said.
There has already been a stalemate among Members of Parliament of the two sides, which halted proceedings in Parliament on Monday, December 20, 2021.
The chaos erupted when the First Deputy Speaker allegedly tried to vacate his seat for the Second Deputy Speaker in order to partake in the ongoing voting exercise.
Following the incident, Parliament adjourned proceedings to January 25, thereby cutting short any attempt to approve or reject the E-levy Bill.
The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision affirmed the voting right of a Deputy Speaker while presiding in the House.
The decision has left the two leading political parties – NPP, NDC deeply divided with former President Mahama describing it as shocking.
Mr. Iddrisu maintained that the verdict of the Apex Court “is an attempt and effort to regulate Parliament and how Parliament conducts its business.”
He noted that “in my view, it stands against the letter and spirit of Article 110 of the 1992 Constitution, there is something wrong.”
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has called for the matter to be put to rest, in the interest of national development.
Source: myJoy
