Johnson Asiedu Nketiah
In a memo dated November 25, 2024, the NDC claiming to be Majority Caucus in Parliament is urging the Speaker to reject a request to recall Parliament, citing a lack of urgent government business and the proximity to the December 7 general elections.
This development comes after National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah directed all NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) to boycott any emergency recall of Parliament.
The Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, last week, wrote to the speaker Alban Bagbin to recall Parliament to complete some government business and pass some bills, including the Free Senior High School Bill, into law before the upcoming elections take off.
However, the Speaker is yet to respond, the memo from the NDC Minority Caucus argued that the petitioner failed to meet the constitutional requirement of gathering 15% of MPs’ signatures to trigger a recall.
They also emphasized that recalling Parliament would disrupt critical engagements between MPs and their constituents ahead of the elections.
Asiedu Nketiah’s directive was motivated by concerns that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) aimed to exploit the recall for corrupt purposes.
He alleged that the NPP sought to “loot the country one last time” before the elections.
This move follows a Supreme Court ruling that declared the Speaker’s decision to vacate four parliamentary seats unconstitutional.
The NDC Chairman criticized the ruling, arguing it overstepped the Court’s powers and threatened Ghana’s democracy.
Asiedu Nketiah rallied support for NDC parliamentary candidates, stressing the importance of securing a majority in Parliament to check potential authoritarian tendencies.
-BY Daniel Bampoe