Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has strongly criticized the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for its actions in Parliament, accusing the opposition of deliberately creating chaos in the ongoing vacant seats dispute.
At a press conference on November 7, Afenyo-Markin stated that the NDC, with the apparent support of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, was intent on sowing confusion and undermining parliamentary order.
“The Speaker is setting the country on fire… clearly, the NDC is on a war path, they want confusion and they want lawlessness in this country, and all of these actions are being supervised by Mr. Speaker,” Mr Afenyo-Markin declared.
The controversy stems from the NPP’s request for an emergency recall of Parliament after Speaker Bagbin had adjourned the House indefinitely on October 22 due to a lack of quorum caused by a boycott from NPP MPs.
While the NPP Caucus had asked for the session to be resumed in order to handle important government business, they failed to show up when Parliament reconvened on November 7.
This absence led to a second indefinite adjournment.
In response to these developments, Mr Afenyo-Markin accused Speaker Bagbin of not upholding the constitution and allowing disorder to persist.
He expressed frustration at the Speaker’s failure to manage the situation and urged him to act with statesmanship.
“Mr. Speaker is hurting democracy… how can the Speaker say he respects the constitution but will not subject himself to the dictates of the constitution?” Mr Afenyo-Markin questioned.
Furthermore, the Majority Leader pointed to the NDC’s tactics as a direct attempt to block the passage of key government initiatives, particularly the Free Senior High School (SHS) Bill, which he suggested was a primary target for the opposition.
“They are conspiring with Mr. Speaker to get the Free SHS Bill not passed; their main target is the Free SHS Bill,” Afenyo-Markin emphasized.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the leader of the NDC Caucus in Parliament, also weighed in, explaining that his side had attended the Business Committee meeting scheduled for the morning of November 7.
However, the NPP MPs failed to show up. Dr Forson expressed his frustration at the lack of communication from the NPP side.
“I was worried and reached out to the NPP side to indicate as to what their plan is, but no one responded,” Forson revealed.
This ongoing deadlock between the two major political parties has left Parliament in a state of uncertainty, with significant government business at risk of further delay.
The accusations of lawlessness, coupled with the failure to reach an agreement on how to proceed, have only deepened the political tensions in the House.