President-elect John Dramani Mahama and outgoing Suame MP Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu
The outgoing Member of Parliament for Suame constituency, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, has raised concerns over President-elect John Dramani Mahama’s nomination of Alban Bagbin as Speaker for the Ninth Parliament.
In an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb on January 5, 2025, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu argued that Mahama’s decision to instruct the NDC caucus to retain Alban Bagbin as Speaker violates constitutional provisions.
The outgoing lawmaker pointed out that, according to the standing orders, the decision regarding parliamentary leadership should be made exclusively by the incoming Members of Parliament.
Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu strongly disagreed with Mahama’s move, stating, “I would disagree with it. The presidency is one arm of government and the Constitution provides that the Speaker is a person who is chosen from amongst Members of Parliament or persons who qualify to be elected as Members of Parliament by the Members of Parliament themselves.”
The former Majority Leader of the 8th Parliament further stated that the presidency or the executive branch of government can only express their views or opinions regarding their comfort with the candidate.
“If the presidency is comfortable with Bagbin, they can say ‘they are comfortable with Bagbin’,” he emphasised.
Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu also reiterated that the constitution grants both the Majority and Minority sides of Parliament the authority to nominate and elect a candidate for the Speakership.
Therefore, the decision should not rest solely with one caucus.
“In the Constitution, it does not even lie with the NDC caucus alone to nominate a person as Speaker; it could as well come from the other side because Parliament is a representative body that includes both sides of the house,” he explained.
He continued, “The Constitution provides that the Speaker must come from amongst the Members of Parliament, and the election is at the instance of the Members of Parliament, not the party or the president.”
Kyei-Mensah Bonsu further advised the presidency to refrain from involving itself in legislative matters and decision-making regarding the leadership of Parliament.
“I would advise that the president doesn’t get himself involved in this. If he wants to talk to the members, he could do so informally, but to formally direct them to do this, to me, it is wrong,” he stated firmly.
Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu’s comments come after President-elect John Dramani Mahama nominated Alban Bagbin as Speaker for the 9th Parliament.
A statement issued on January 5, 2024, confirmed that the nomination followed consultations and a mutual agreement between the National Executive and Parliamentary Leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
MAG/EB
