We’ll jealously protect our new majority status – Ato Forson
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has reaffirmed his caucus’s determination to defend their parliamentary majority despite a Supreme Court ruling that temporarily halts a decision by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
The controversy arose after Speaker Bagbin, on Thursday, October 17, declared four parliamentary seats vacant. This was due to three sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) announcing their intention to contest the 2024 general elections as independent candidates.
Additionally, the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, who originally entered Parliament as an independent candidate, stated his plan to contest the upcoming elections under the banner of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Bagbin’s declaration would have shifted the balance of power in Parliament, granting the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus a slight edge, with 136 MPs compared to the NPP’s 135.
This shift in numbers could have tipped the scales in favour of the NDC, making them the majority in the House.
However, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled to stay the execution of Speaker Bagbin’s declaration, thereby preventing the immediate vacancy of the seats and maintaining the current parliamentary numbers.
Despite the ruling, Dr. Ato Forson, speaking at a press conference on Sunday, October 20, made it clear that the Minority Caucus is resolute in defending what they see as their rightful majority.
He stated that his team would “jealously guard” their position and expressed their unwillingness to back down or relent in their pursuit of what they believe is a fair representation in Parliament.
“The effect of the Speaker’s declaration is that currently, we no longer have an independent member of parliament. The NPP has 135 members… This effectively utters the configurations of parliament significantly.
“The NPP group is now the minority caucus as defined in Order 6 of the Standing Orders of Parliament. The minority caucus means members of the party or parties that have the second largest number of seats in parliament.
“The NDC MPs in parliament now constitute the majority caucus in this 8th Parliament. We will jealously protect our new majority status and we will not bow, retreat nor surrender our lawfully earned status,” he stated.
Dr. Forson also took the opportunity to criticize the Supreme Court’s intervention in what he described as a matter concerning the independence of Parliament.
He argued that the judiciary’s involvement in parliamentary affairs raised questions about the balance of power between the branches of government.