You can’t attend Akufo-Addo investiture without invitation – Parliament
Parliament has revealed plans to swear in President Nana Akufo-Addo for a second term on January 7, 2021, after his victory in the 2020 presidential elections.
He is expected to take the oath of office in Parliament, a departure from the event usually held at the Independence Square.
But before then, President Nana Akufo-Addo is scheduled to deliver the final State of the Nation address on his first four-year mandate on January 5 in Parliament.
The change in convention is because of the COVID-19 scourge which is now spiking after months of receding.
The current 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana will then be dissolved on January 6 with newly-elected legislators taking their seats on January 7.
Ahead of the activities, Parliament said “attendance of these events are strictly by invitation” and “all COVID-19 safety and prevention protocols will be strictly adhered to”.
This was communicated in a release Parliament’s Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo.
“At 12:01am on 7th January, the Elected Members of the 8th Parliament will convene in the Chamber of Parliament to elect a Speaker and Two Deputy Speakers, in accordance with Articles 95, 96 and 100(2) of the 1992 Constitution, after which the elected Members of the 8th Parliament will be sworn in by the Speaker at the Chamber of Parliament as per Article 100(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
“The President-elect will then be sworn in before the 8th Parliament in accordance with Article 57(3) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana,” the release noted.
Article 57(3) of the 1992 Constitution states: “Before assuming office, the President shall take and subscribe before Parliament the Oath of Allegiance and the Presidential Oath set out in the Second Schedule to this Constitution.”
That constitutional provision has over the years been adhered to by swearing-in elected presidents either at the Black Star Square or the Fore Court of the State House.
A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Pius Enam Hadzide, explained the new arrangement of the swearing-in ceremony in Parliament after a request by the House.
The Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had said: “It is hard to relate that often before the sitting is suspended for the House to reconvene at the Independence Square, the public would have generally taken over the sitting of the relocated Parliament.
“In the event, MPs are dislodged from what is supposed to be their own house. MPs, especially those from the party that might have lost the elections, are subjected to vile language in their own house.
“That is not a good practice and, accordingly, the House has decided that the President-elect must, henceforth, subject to security considerations, be sworn in within the precincts of Parliament before Parliament and in Parliament”.
The 2020 Presidential Transition Team did not object and the necessary arrangements are expected to be carried out for a smooth process.
President Akufo-Addo won a disputed second term against the National Democratic Congress’ Johnn Mahama. He became the third president to have won a second term after J.J. Rawlings (1992 & 1996) and J.A. Kufuor (2000& 2004).