The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced that Ghana’s Parliament will reconvene on Monday, December 16, 2024. However, the exact venue for the seventh meeting of the fourth session of the eighth Parliament will be communicated to Members of Parliament (MPs) at a later date.
This announcement, contained in a notice issued on December 2 and signed by the Speaker, stated:
“Pursuant to Order 58 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, I, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, hereby give notice that the seventh meeting of the fourth session of the eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic shall commence on Monday, the 16th day of December 2024, at ten o’clock in the forenoon at a place to be appointed by the Speaker in due course.”
The decision means Parliament will resume its activities after the December 7 general elections, during which new MPs for both the Majority and Minority sides will be elected.
This comes after Speaker Bagbin previously declined a request by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to call Parliament back on November 28 and 29 to address urgent issues. The Speaker upheld his decision to suspend parliamentary activities until after the elections, citing the absence of a prepared agenda from the Business Committee.
Earlier in November, the Supreme Court ruled against Speaker Bagbin’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant, following a challenge led by Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin.
The Court’s judgment clarified that a parliamentary seat can only be declared vacant if an MP switches political parties while retaining their position in Parliament. The ruling further indicated that the Speaker’s decision could not take effect within the current parliamentary term.
Two dissenting justices, however, argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, highlighting a division in the interpretation of the Court’s authority.