Minority MPs protesting
Parliament was plunged into hours of chaos yesterday as discipline broke down completely and Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin lost control of proceedings, triggering one of the most tumultuous sittings in the Fourth Republic.
What began as a protest by the Minority over the declaration of the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant quickly escalated into a full-blown confrontation, with both sides breaching Standing Orders, defying the authority of the Speaker, and converging around the ceremonial Mace — the symbol of parliamentary power and legitimacy.
The disorder erupted shortly after the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, delivered a strongly worded protest against the Speaker’s decision to notify the Electoral Commission of a vacancy in the Kpandai seat.
The declaration followed a High Court order for a rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary election, but the Minority insists the Speaker acted prematurely because an application for a stay of execution is still pending.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh argued that the Speaker had disregarded binding parliamentary procedures. He reminded the House that on November 24, 2025, the Speaker himself had ruled, in response to an earlier request from the Majority, that no action could be taken while a stay application was pending.
Drawing parallels with the James Gyakye Quayson case in the last Parliament, he questioned why the Speaker’s position had suddenly shifted.
“With respect, the question that naturally arises is: why has the principle changed? Why does the stay rule apply in one circumstance but not the other, particularly when the factual and procedural posture is virtually identical? Is this because Honourable Matthew Nyindam is a member of the New Patriotic Party?” Annoh-Dompreh charged.
He warned that selective application of procedural rules undermines the rule of law and erodes confidence in the legislative arm of government.
The Minority, he stressed, rejected entirely the December 4, 2025 letter written by the Clerk to Parliament notifying the Electoral Commission (EC) of the vacancy.
The letter, addressed to the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, cited the High Court’s order instructing a rerun of the Kpandai election.
The Minority described it as “out of place” and “a violation of procedural justice,” and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
Moments after the statement, the Minority erupted into sustained chanting, singing repeatedly the concluding line of the National Anthem: “And help us to resist oppressor’s rule / With all our will and might for evermore.”
Their singing drowned out proceedings and electrified the chamber, as they rose to their feet and flooded the centre aisle.
The Majority, equally charged, crossed the aisle in response. Both sides converged in the middle of the chamber, shouting, gesticulating and defying all attempts to restore order.
In the heat of the confrontation, the sanctity of the Mace, the embodiment of parliamentary authority, was defied as MPs surrounded it aggressively.
Fearing it would be toppled or damaged, the Marshal quickly summoned Parliament’s security, who cordoned off the Mace and stood guard to prevent any physical contact.
With disorder deepening, Speaker Bagbin attempted to reassert authority using every procedural signal at his disposal, including rising to his feet, a traditional command requiring all MPs to sit.
But neither side complied. For nearly eight hours, from midday through to almost 8:00 p.m., the chamber remained engulfed in chaos, with MPs shouting over each other, and refusing to adhere to Standing Orders.
At several points during the upheaval, the Speaker appeared visibly frustrated and helpless as the House ignored instructions.
Despite the disorder, he allowed business to continue intermittently, a decision that further angered MPs who believed order should first be restored.
The Second Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, who presided over part of the sitting, also attempted repeatedly to calm tempers.
But like the Speaker, he was overpowered by the relentless noise and confrontation. When all efforts failed, he eventually suspended proceedings indefinitely, bringing the chaotic session to a dramatic halt.
The turmoil deepened tensions between the two caucuses, with the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, serving notice that cooperation would suffer.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House