According to him, the Speaker election was truncated following the chaos that transpired during the inauguration of the 8th Parliament.
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‘Bagbin became Speaker by consensus, he wasn’t elected’ – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Leader of the NPP Caucus in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, says Alban Bagbin was selected as Speaker of Parliament through consensus.
‘Bagbin became Speaker by consensus, he wasn’t elected’ – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
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The Suame MP explained that he initially wanted Mr. Bagbin to be sworn in by the Chief Justice, after which a settlement will be made for a re-run of the election, but the NDC Caucus rejected the idea.
He noted that after hours of engagement, a consensus was reached by some leaders of both divides to select Mr. Bagbin as Speaker.
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Alban Bagbin and Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu in Parliament
Pulse Ghana
“As part of building a consensus, when we met, my first proposal to my colleagues was that this election has been truncated just as the first three attempts had been truncated, and we had to begin a new voting process,” Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said, as quoted by Citinewsroom.
“So that was the initial proposal. My colleagues went into the conclave and came to say that they objected to that proposal that we should do a re-run. So we were thinking through, and it was still in the process of further engagement that we came to the conclusion that where we are, let us adopt Bagbin as a consensus candidate.”
Mr. Bagbin, who is a stalwart of the NDC, was sworn in as Speaker of the 8th Parliament on Thursday, January 7, 2021.
The former Nadowli Kaleo MP beat off competition from NPP nominee, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye after flipping three votes from the NPP Caucus.
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This is the first time in Ghana’s history that a candidate from the opposition party has been elected Speaker of Parliament.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, however, maintained that he was selected by consensus and not elected, saying that was the reason why the Clark in Parliament failed to “relate to any numbers” while asking him “to take the Chair.”
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