NDC Minority Caucus To Boycott Parliament Until Post-Election Following Supreme Court Ruling

&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size"><strong>The National Democratic Congress &lpar;NDC&rpar; parliamentary minority&comma; led by MP Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye&comma; has declared its intent to abstain from parliamentary proceedings until after the December elections&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This decision comes in response to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling&comma; which overturned Speaker Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four seats as vacant—a move initially intended to prompt by-elections in those constituencies&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>On Tuesday&comma; November 12&comma; 2024&comma; the Supreme Court sided with Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin&comma; who argued that Speaker Bagbin exceeded his authority by declaring the seats vacant without judicial review&comma; citing Article 97&lpar;1&rpar;&lpar;g&rpar; of the Ghanaian Constitution&period; Bagbin’s initial decision had aimed to open by-elections in the affected seats&comma; a step now thwarted by the court’s ruling&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In an interview with Channel One TV&comma; Vanderpuye expressed the minority caucus&&num;8217&semi;s frustration with what he termed &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;unnecessary spending” on a parliamentary recall initiated by the majority caucus&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;They should not waste the taxpayers’ money by asking us to come to Parliament in the next three weeks&period; We are not coming&comma;” he stated&comma; underscoring the caucus&&num;8217&semi;s focus on preparing for the election rather than returning to Parliament prematurely&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;occupygh&period;com&sol;file&sol;occupygh&sol;2024&sol;11&sol;nii-lantey-vanderpuye-1-750x375-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-210643" &sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Vanderpuye further clarified that the NDC would re-engage in parliamentary business after the polls&comma; insisting that their presence will be determined by the post-election numbers&period; He argued that the question of majority status in Parliament is based on actual membership numbers&comma; not judicial or external interpretation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It is not for the NPP or the Supreme Court to define for us who is majority or minority in Ghana’s Parliament&comma;” he added&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We have our own procedures for determining who holds the majority or minority status&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The NDC minority’s stance signals an ongoing tension between the two parties over parliamentary procedure and constitutional authority&period; Whether this boycott will impact upcoming legislative business remains to be seen&comma; but for now&comma; the minority caucus is setting its sights on the December elections as the priority&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Source<&sol;strong>&colon; <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;OccupyGh&period;com">OccupyGh&period;com<&sol;a> <&sol;p><p class&equals;"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;chat&period;whatsapp&period;com&sol;JVGCtXdCoiKHCI3CXwMC5l" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">Tap To Join Our<&sol;a> WhatsApp Community<&sol;p> &NewLine;

Shirley Watson: