Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament and Chair of Parliamentary Service Board, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has received a ‘Draft Parliamentary Transition Bill’ from the Center for Democratic Transitions (CDT).
The draft bill was presented to the Speaker in his office today, October 24th, 2022 by Professor Kwamina Ahwoi and Nana Ato Dadzie, both consultants with the CDT.
According to information available on the official Facebook page of the Parliament of Ghana, the intent of the bill is to mend the gabs that exist when transitioning from one Parliament to another.
“Transitioning from one parliament to another under the Fourth Republican Constitution has had gaps and doubtful legal validity, that have created challenges from one parliament to another in particular, and for democratic governance in general. The purpose of the draft bill therefore is to ensure a smooth, seamless and peaceful transition for the legislature.”
Parliament of Ghana
The idea of putting together such a ‘rule book’ dawned on the Speaker right after he was sworn into office.
Following “the nasty and acrimonious election process on January 7th 2021,” the event that made him the third gentleman of the land, Rt. Hon. Bagbin decided to put some measures in place which will prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
Upon consulting the Parliamentary Service Board, the board together with the Speaker, commissioned the drafting of a Parliamentary Transition Bill.
What the Draft Bill Is About
The bill which is similar to, but not exactly the same as the Presidential Transition Act, “focuses on the peculiarities of the legislature in periods of changeover, and what the experience has been so far.”
It is expected that, the propositions of the draft bill when accepted, will be more or less rules that will govern how Parliamentary changeovers are supposed to be conducted.
“When validated, considered and passed, the Parliamentary Transition Act will govern how the offices of the Speaker, Leaders of the House, and MPs transition from one person to the other to ensure continuity, sustainability and ultimately enhance parliamentary democracy in Ghana.”
Parliament of Ghana
In his remarks after the presentation, the Rt. Hon. Speaker said the Parliamentary Services Board commissioned the drafting of the bill “to help bring closure to some of the unregulated and contestable aspects of what have been the processes, procedures and practices when it comes to parliamentary transition.”
The Speaker said, there had been instances during Parliamentary changeovers when the Clerk of Parliament or the Speaker has been expected to act in a certain manner when in principle, such mandates do not exist. The draft bill therefore “takes a retrospective look at what has happened in the past, considers today’s hung parliament, anticipates what could happen in the future and provides direction and guidance.”
The leader of the team that drafted the bill, Professor Kwamina Ahwoi, also mentioned some of the gabs the bill seeks to mend.
He said, the fact that the Speaker is elected by Members of Parliament who are yet to be sworn in, “was problematic and could raise legal issues.” In the bill, the CDT suggested that, the election of the Speaker should be done by constituting elected MPs into an electoral college.
The electoral college will have the mandate of carrying out the business of electing the Speaker. When done this way, Prof. Ahwoi and his CDT intimated that, the current challenge will be “circumvented.”
Moreover, the services of the Electoral Commission must be employed for the election of the Speaker. That is, the Electoral Commission of Ghana must be given the mandate to organize and supervise the election of the Speaker.
Once the Speaker has been elected and sworn in, the Speaker will then supervise the election of the deputies.
According to the recommendations in the draft bill, these elections, i.e. the election of the Speaker and that of the deputies, must be done at least two days before the swearing in of the President-elect.
Also present during the presentation was the Clerk to Parliament, Mr. Cyril Nsiah and other officers of the Parliamentary Service.
READ ALSO : Sunak Favourite to Become PM as Boris Johnson Pulls Out
