Ghana's Parliament has refuted allegations that Speaker Alban Bagbin is deliberately delaying the recall of Members of Parliament (MPs) due to his political affiliation. In a statement released by the Parliamentary Service on Thursday, April 18, 2024, it clarified that the House is presently in recess, with MPs attending to constituents, while Speaker Bagbin is on assignment in Dubai.
The statement underscored that no MP has formally requested an early recall. Parliament denounced external pressures for a recall as unwarranted interference in parliamentary affairs, labelling such attempts as “frivolous and vexatious.”
“It is instructive to note that no such request has been made by any Member of Parliament and so, the calls for a recall of Parliament by persons outside of Parliament is frivolous and vexatious, and amounts to meddling in the work of Parliament.”
Parliament acknowledged the importance of collaboration and consensus-building due to its balanced nature, dismissing claims that the Speaker's alleged failure to heed recall calls stems from his political ties with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as baseless.
“Parliament is aware of the need for collaboration and consensus-building because of its hung nature and the Speaker, has sought throughout his tenure, to remain neutral and fair in his dealings. Therefore, to insinuate that the Speaker is not heeding calls for a recall because of his political allegiance to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is unfounded and unfortunate.”
The statement concluded by indicating that Parliament is likely to reconvene in the latter part of May 2024, barring any emergency or unforeseen circumstance.
