Ghana needs a Parliamentary Transition Act, says Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
He spoke on the topic, ‘Constitutional Review; the Perspective of a legislator.’
The Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, says in light of recent wranglings by MPs in Parliament, it appears a Parliamentary Transition Act has become necessary.
Speaking at the public lecture hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), he cited particularly events of January 7, 2005, and January 7, 2021, where disagreements and chaos ensued among Parliamentarians during the election of Speakers, Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes and Alban Bagbin.
He emphasised that a Parliamentary Transition Act should be able to resolve issues of that nature.
“In the constitution, the voting rights of Deputy Speakers or any Member of Parliament presiding as a Speaker are not clearly stated. And that has given course to the recent political vigilantism or perhaps much more appropriately, foot-solderism in Parliament of all places.
We don’t have to fight over this. I never envisaged that such a thing could happen in Ghana’s Parliament. Given the antecedent of January 7, 2005, when Parliament came to electing Begyina Sekyi-Hughes as Speaker, and then on January 7, 2021, what happened, it does seem to me that the nation now, more than ever needs a Parliamentary Transition Act,” he said
To back his proposal for a Parliamentary Transition Act, he says the election of a new Speaker should happen even before January 7.
“An important component shall be when to elect a Speaker of Parliament. It should be possible for newly elected Parliamentarians to be summoned by the Clark to Parliament, to elect the Speaker of Parliament before January 7. But that Speaker will not be sworn-in, he’ll be elected by the newly elected Members of Parliament. Then he’ll wait and then be sworn in on January 7, that is after the holding Parliament would have been dissolved.
“The nation will be spared the agony of sitting on tantahoods and the embarrassment that may fall before the invited high profile guests during the swearing-in of the President as happened on January 7, 2005, and much more shamefully and embarrassedly on January 7, 2021.”
The lecture was on the topic, ‘Constitutional Review; the Perspective of a legislator.’
