The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced that Parliament will reconvene on Monday, December 16, 2024.
The venue for the 7th meeting of the 4th session of the 8th Parliament will be communicated to Members of Parliament at a later date, according to a notice issued by the Speaker on December 2.
“Following Order 58 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, I, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, hereby give notice that the seventh meeting of the fourth session of the eighth parliament of the Fourth Republic will commence on Monday, December 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM at a location to be appointed by the Speaker,” the notice stated.
This session will follow the 2024 general elections, in which new Members of Parliament for both the Majority and Minority sides will be elected.
The decision to reconvene comes after Speaker Bagbin rejected a request by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to call Parliament back on November 28 and 29 to address urgent matters.
Speaker Bagbin insisted that parliamentary activities remain suspended until after the December 7 elections.
The adjournment followed a suspension of proceedings due to the absence of a prepared agenda from the Business Committee.
On November 12, the Supreme Court overturned Speaker Bagbin’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant, ruling in favor of a challenge brought by Afenyo-Markin.
The Court clarified that a parliamentary seat can only be declared vacant if a lawmaker switches political parties while retaining their position in Parliament.
The ruling further stated that the Speaker’s decision could not take effect within the current parliamentary term.
However, two dissenting justices argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the case, highlighting a divide in the interpretation of the Court’s authority on such matters.
