Private legal practitioner Justice Abdulai has shared his views on Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s recent decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant, a move that has the potential to reshape the balance of power in Parliament.
Abdulai noted that this shift from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus would likely compel the executive branch to cooperate more closely with Parliament.
The decision came after Bagbin accepted a motion filed by former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu to vacate the seats of three MPs who have chosen to run as independent candidates in the upcoming elections, as well as one Independent MP, Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena), who is an independent but has declared his intention to contest on the NPP ticket.
Thursday evening’s ruling by the Speaker means the NDC now has the majority seats in Parliament with 136 seats while the NPP now has 135 seats.
The ruling could tip the parliamentary majority in favour of the NDC, altering the dynamics of legislative decision-making.
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 17, Abdulai emphasized that this power shift could give the NDC caucus a majority, which would have significant implications for how Parliament and the executive branch interact moving forward.
With the NPP potentially losing its majority, the government might be forced to engage more with opposition MPs to pass legislation and push through its agenda.
“We have barely two months to the end of the tenure of President Akufo-Addo and I do hope that with the table turning in parliament for the first time in our history, we may probably see something useful from the NDC side who are now the government’s face in parliament. I do hope that it could be the turning point for the things that we expected from parliament.
“Let’s all remember that this will change everything that we’ve seen and known in our democratic path. This is because we are likely to have the executive cooperating more with parliament. After all, they don’t have the numbers to push forward any decision. So, there must be more corporation, dialogue and better ways of doing things going forward,” he stated.
He continued: “Let’s remember most of the ministers of state do not come to parliament but this time they will be forced to come to parliament. You and I are rather going to benefit from this than what we are used to.
“So, it is more positive and I do not think that it is going to be an opportunity for the NDC side to shut down the government or put all of us at the lonely end,” he stated.
