Attend Parliament or lose your seat – Bagbin warns MPs

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has warned Members of Parliament (MPs) to attend sittings regularly or risk having their seats declared vacant.

His caution follows persistent low attendance in the House since Parliament resumed sitting last week, a trend that has been evident for most of the year.

The Constitution stipulates that any MP who absents themselves for 15 sitting days without permission from the Speaker automatically forfeits their seat.

Addressing lawmakers at the start of proceedings on Wednesday, October 29, Mr Bagbin said he would strictly enforce this constitutional provision during the current meeting of the House.

He noted that repeated absenteeism was undermining parliamentary work and eroding public confidence in the legislature.

“It’s for good reason we decided that we’ll sit in the afternoons so that you can take the morning to attend committee meetings, prepare reports and attend to your constituents and that by 2 p.m., you should be ready to sit,” he said.

The Speaker explained that afternoon sittings were introduced to allow MPs to interact with ministries and institutions during working hours, while evening sessions enabled citizens to follow parliamentary business.

“In the evenings, people have the opportunity to sit, watch, advise you, and make inputs. That again we are not taking advantage of. I’m saying this for the last time,” he cautioned.

Mr Bagbin announced that he had directed clerks to record detailed attendance for the current meeting and warned that sanctions would follow if absenteeism continued.

He said he regretted not publishing earlier attendance records and hinted that future defaulters could be referred to the Privileges Committee.