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Mike Oquaye, Freddie Blay, Joe Ghartey tipped to be Speaker of Parliament

The Sixth Parliament is expected to be dissolved at midnight on Friday, January 6, 2017, on the morning of Saturday.

 

Several names have emerged to be the next Speaker of Parliament for the commencement of the Seventh Parliament of Ghana.

Politicians Prof. Oquaye, Freddie Blay and Joe Ghartey are widely believed to be in the running to succeed Edward Doe Adjaho as the next Speaker of Parliament.

With the present Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho, coming from the side of the outgoing National Democratic Congress (NDC), it means the Seventh Parliament will have to elect a new Speaker that will preside over the House.

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Under the Constitution and the rules of Parliament, for a candidate to emerge as Speaker, he or she must have been elected by members of the House or persons who are qualified to be elected as a member of Parliament.

Below are background of the next Speaker of Parliament.

Professor Mike Oquaye is a Ghanaian politician who served as the Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana between 2009 and 2013. He was the Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya from 2005 to 2013.

He was Ghana's High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004, then Minister of Energy from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Communications from 2006 to 2009.

He worked with other central NPP figures, including former President John Kufuor, Nana Akufo-Addo, Peter Ala Adjetey to campaign successfully for the NPP victory in the 2000 general elections.

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His role in the party's success, which involved journalistic contributions and involvement in other activities of the party between 1993 and 2000, is considered significant.

Freddie Blay is a lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament and served as the First Deputy Speaker in the Fourth Parliament.

He lost his seat in 2008 to Armah Kofi Buah of the NDC. He was a member of the Convention People's Party (CPP), but resigned to join the NPP after being criticized by some CPP stalwarts for not campaigning for the CPP flagbearer Papa Kwesi Nduom, instead endorsing NPP presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.

Blay, a lawyer and a politician was a Member of Parliament for the Ellembelle constituency on the ticket of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

He served for over a decade 1997 to 2008 earning the nickname, “Ellembelle Mugabe”.

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He is also highly tipped for the position looking at his in-depth knowledge in parliamentary affairs.

Joe Ghartey - He is a member of one of the New Patrioc Party (NPP). He was inspired to join the party in 1992 because it espouses strong values that he shares personally — Freedom, Democracy, Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, as well as Private Sector Development, a philosophy that is very dear to his heart.

He started off as a member of the Sekondi Campaign Team and later served as Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Disciplinary Committee of the Party.

He was part of the team that wrote the "Stolen Verdict", in 1993, which was a detailed account of the widespread electoral malpractices which occurred during the 1992 general election. He chaired the Session of the National Conference which amended the constitution of the NPP.

He is currently the NPP Member of Parliament for Essikado/Ketan Constituency in the Western Region. During the administration of President John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghartey was appointed Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice in March 2005. He was soon promoted and appointed the substantive Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in June 2006, a position he held until January 2009.

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After the 2012 general elections, Hon. Ghartey was nominated by the NPP minority in parliament to the position of Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament in the 6th Parliament.

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