Haruna Iddrisu, Alban Bagbin
Newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) will be convening in Parliament House on Monday, December 19, to be registered for the 7th Parliament which would be inaugurated on January 6 – immediately after the present parliament is dissolved.
The new MPs would be sworn into office by a new speaker of parliament who would be appointed by president-elect Nana Akufo-Addo.
After their registration the new MPs would cast their votes to either accept or reject the new speaker.
A new speaker, according to the Presidential Transition Act, would have to be accepted by parliament 24 hours before the induction of the president-elect into office by the Chief Justice.
The 7th parliament would totally be controlled by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as they would now be in the majority with 171 seats and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the minority with 104 seats.
According to a press release from the Public Affairs Department of Parliament and signed by Kate Addo, Acting Director, the registration of the new MPs would take place from Monday to Friday, December 23 at the new administration block of the house.
Photographs would be taken of the new MPs after which identification cards would be prepared for them.
The release said they are supposed to give accurate and verifiable information about themselves before the ID cards would be issued to them to facilitate the voting in the selection of the new speaker and new leaders of parliament.
It is not clear whether the NPP would retain its leaders, now that they are in the majority; but information DAILY GUIDE has is that the NDC – which will be in the minority – has proposed the majority leader and sitting/re-re-elected MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban Bagbin, for the second deputy speaker position. The leadership of the minority will rotate around the Minister for Roads and Highways, Inusah Fuseini, sitting/re-elected MP for Tamale Central; the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu, who is the sitting/re-elected MP for Tamale South; Minister at the presidency, Rashid Pelpuo, sitting/re-elected MP for Wa Central and Majority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, sitting/re-elected MP for Asawase. The minority leader position will most probably be fought for by Inusah Fuseini and Haruna Iddrisu according to information reaching this paper.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr