Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has clarified that he does not have the authority to assign seating positions to Members of Parliament (MPs), addressing the ongoing contention between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over which party holds the majority in Parliament.
The current standoff stems from Bagbin’s recent declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant, which tilted the numbers in favour of the opposition NDC. His decision intensified the debate over which party, NDC or NPP, commands the majority.
This declaration left both sides vying for the “Majority” designation, with implications for parliamentary leadership and decision-making.
On Wednesday, November 6, Minority Chief Whip Governs Kwame Agbodza indicated that the NDC caucus would arrive in Parliament on Thursday intending to occupy the majority seating area.
Agbodza’s statement reflects the NDC’s stance on its standing in the House following the Speaker’s ruling on the vacant seats.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Bagbin reiterated that his duties as Speaker do not include determining where MPs sit, emphasizing that seating assignments are matters for the MPs and their respective leadership to resolve.
He underscored that his primary role is to facilitate order, uphold parliamentary procedures, and ensure that the business of the House runs smoothly, regardless of ongoing political tensions.
“It is not part of the duties of a speaker to decide where an MP should be in parliament. That determination in Ghana’s constitution doesn’t exist. In various parliaments, these things we are talking about; majority and minority don’t exist any longer. That is why in my ruling, I used the term old school, which is the British model; the government and opposition.
“…You can sit anywhere, but the numbers determine who is the majority and who is the minority. In our parliament, the practice is for those who constitute the majority to sit on the right side of the speaker and those who constitute the minority to sit on the left side of the speaker.
“That is because, after independence in 1957, we adopted the Westminster system, which is practised in the United Kingdom. But we changed that even to the extent that the arrangement on the floor of the house is in a horseshoe. So, it is not always the case that the people to the left side are all members of a minority, that is not the case now and there is good reason,” he stated.
