The attempts by the Minority in Parliament to have their names captured as being absent with permission for Tuesday’s proceedings proved futile.
According to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban SumanaKingsford Bagbin, the table office was right to have marked the minority members absent without permission.
The Speaker explained that they did not individually seek permission in writing from the Speaker, in accordance with their Standing Orders, after their leader verbally announced their boycott.
The Speaker was giving a directive on the matter on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 on the floor of Parliament, during the correction of votes and proceedings for Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
He stood on Article 97 (1) (c), which states that “a member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament – if he is absent without the permission in writing of the Speaker and he is unable to offer a reasonable explanation…
The Speaker explained that provision to mean that an MP could choose not to attend the sittings of Parliament, but the Speaker has to grant permission in writing to the member who does not want to attend, but wants to be captured as absent with permission.
“Now, any time you want to do so, if you want the written permission of the Speaker, you have to seek it. If you don’t seek it or have it, you will be recorded as absent, and that is without permission,” he said.
“I cannot come and use any verbal language or words to grant you permission. It must be in writing. And so, the table office is right in saying that you have been absent without permission. That is what our rules say,” he added.
GUIDANCE
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel OkudzetoAblakwa, sought the “guidance” of the Speaker on how the minority is captured in attendance since they announced their boycott.
He feared that the development could be “inimical” to their continuous stay in Parliament, considering the 15-day threshold for absentee MPs.
He said they should not be “punished” for exercising their right to solidarise with their colleagues.
He noted that they were always captured as being absent when in their minds, the records should have reflected that they were absent with permission.
“Mr. Speaker, we have indicated that anytime our colleagues appear before the court, we will boycott proceedings and yesterday’s absence was a boycott. So, I thought that that would be captured for the record. So, it is not as though we just absented ourselves,” he stated.
He recalled that in “time past,” the table office had recorded boycotts and walkouts and thought that their case should not be different.
The Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, argued that the minority were “absent with permission.”
The Minority intimated that they were not on the floor of the House “for a reason,” and the records should reflect that.
OPPOSITION
The Member of Parliament for Okaikoi Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, rising in opposition, argued that the guidance was that the votes and proceedings of the House were regulated by the Standing Orders.
He said that boycotts occur when members enter the Chamber, sign as having attended the House and the caucus “notifies the Speaker” of the decision to boycott.
It was his argument that the plea from the minority had no place in the standing orders. “If you are absent, you are absent,” he stated.
The MP for Okere held the view that the minority MPs were absent as they did not sign the register. He cited that the individual MPs ought to have signed individually, “and if they do not do it, they have absented themselves.”
IMMUNITY
The MP for Asunafo South, Eric Opoku, argued on Article 118 (1) that parliamentarians could not be attending court on a daily basis.
Article 118 (1) states that “Neither the Speaker, nor a member of, nor the Clerk to, Parliament shall be compelled, while attending Parliament, to appear as a witness in any court or place outside of Parliament.”
Meanwhile, the Speaker indicated that the law says to appear as a witness, but in the circumstances, the three MPs are parties to the respective trials.
By Maxwell Ofori & McKenzie Days
