SHOCKER! Alban Bagbin pulls surprise to become Speaker of Parliament
After almost seven hours of drama and fisticuffs, former MP for Nadowli/Kaleo Alban Bagbin has been elected Speaker of Parliament out of all expectations.
Ghana’s longest-serving MP was put up by the NDC which has 137 parliamentarians with one restrained from becoming MP.
It did not appear as though the NDC had the numbers but on the night in which Ghana’s parliament defied all their convention of civility, Mr Bagbin emerged winner beating the incumbent Speaker.
While the NDC MPs engaged in wild jubilations chanting Bagbin’s name, the NPP legislators wore a long face of disappointed as they looked on in shock.
Even before the results were announced, the NDC lawmakers were on a victory lap, singing accolades of the man who has been through the parliamentary mill as a common floor MP, Minority Leader, Majority Leader, and Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
His feat is historic because it will be the first time an opposition party member will lead Ghana’s parliament as a Speaker.
Moments before the NDC MPs went into a frenzy, there was a momentary shock when MP for Tema West, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, snatched the ballot papers and took to his heels.
It took the vigilance of some NDC MPs and security in the Chamber to accost him and collect the ballots in his possession.
It was a scene witnessed at some polling stations and uncharacteristic of a legislator.
Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who is expected to swear in the Speaker, had exited Parliament after a long wait but returned at about 6:45 am shortly after counting.
It was a long night, one in which the NPP side tried to prevent the Assin North MP-elect James Quayson from being sworn in.
Reacting to his election as speaker of the 8th parliament, Mr. Bagbin said “I must say I am so happy and grateful to all of you even those who voted against me”
” I will submit myself to the will of his house and pledge to serve my dear country and all Ghanaians faithfully to the best of my abilities”
“I want to promise wholeheartedly to put at the disposal of parliament and the country a stall of knowledge, immerse experience and the huge data bank I have accommodated and accumulated over the 28years that I have been a member of this house” he added.
Military storms parliament
A standoff between the NDC and NPP legislators over secret voting resulted in hours of delay in selecting the Speaker, leading to the military being invited to protect the ballot box.
The controversies in parliament took a dramatic turn at about 3.40 am when armed soldiers entered the House and marched to the centre of the chamber close to where the voting was to be undertaken.
This happened because an NPP MP publicly showed his vote contrary to the House rules, which stipulates a secret ballot.
Angered by the development, NDC MP for Asawase Muntaka Mubarak took the ballot box, halting the process after the first NPP MP cast his vote.
The contingent was about 15 soldiers and a few police officers also assembled to assist.
“Your actions are tantamount to an attack on our democracy, and we shall resist it,” one of the NDC MPs could be held screaming as the soldiers shoved and pushed the new legislators.
The NDC lawmakers broke into song, singing part of the national anthem which relates to resisting oppressor’s rule.
However, the police and parliamentary marshall ushered the military out of the chamber after about 30 minutes.
The NDC members also chanted revolutionary songs.
For more than two hours, the two sides of the House had been confrontational as they both tried to outdo each other to get the Speaker from their side.
At about 4:00 am, calm returned but the Chief Justice who had been in the House since 10.30 pm the previous day to swear-in the Speaker, was escorted out of the chamber.
After the chaos, the leadership of the House went into a caucus meeting to find a lasting solution to the impasse which had delayed the voting for more than four hours.
All these occurred after a U-turn by the Clerk of Parliament Kwabena Oteng Nsiah.
Earlier, he declared Assin North MP-elect James Quayson a persona non-grata in Parliament.
An injunction had been placed on Mr Quayson by a Cape Coast High Court from holding himself as Assin North MP after his nationality was challenged.
The Clerk said that he had been duly served and therefore did not recognise Mr Quayson as a legitimate member of the quorum.
The Clerk explained the consequence of Mr Quayeson’s continued presence in the House, and attempt to take part in parliamentary activities in contravention of Article 105, which bars non-legislators from voting.
When voting resumed at about 4:30 am, MP for Tamale South Haruna Iddrisu called for respect for the secret ballot in order to protect the sanctity of the exercise.
Who is Alban Bagbin?
Born on September 24, 1957, at Sombo in the Upper West Region, Hon. Bagbin is a graduate of the University of Ghana (1977-1980) and the Ghana School of Law (1980 -1982).
He holds an Executive Masters in Governance and Leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
The former MP for Nadowli Kaleo and former Majority Leader started schooling at an early age at the Roman Catholic Primary School, Sombo, did his second cycle education at Wa Secondary School and ended at the Tamale Secondary School, where he earned his Ordinary Level and Advanced Level certificates before entering the University of Ghana in 1977.
From 1980 to 1982, he worked at the Bureau of Statistics and Statistical Service as the acting Secretary to the Statistical Service Board while between 1982 and 1983; he worked as Personnel Manager of the erstwhile State Hotels Corporation.
Mr Bagbin practised as a private legal practitioner in the Akyem Chambers, a firm of legal practitioners, consultants and notaries public, as a partner.
He is currently the longest-serving a member of parliament, having served since 1993 when the first parliament under the 4th Republic was inaugurated.
He has held a number of positions in Parliament since 1994 and capped his lawmaking career with the ultimate, the Majority Leader and Leader of the House.
In the first Parliament of the Fourth Republic, he was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy and Member of the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development.
In the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Mr Bagbin was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs with oversight responsibilities for the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Electoral Commission, National Commission on Civic Education, Office of Parliament and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
He was also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 2001 to 2005.
He was also the Vice-Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
He did not run again for Parliament in the 2020 elections.