Executive Director for Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr. Rashid Dramani says even though some have accused the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin of being partisan, he has observed that the Speaker is trying his best to be as neutral as possible.
The Doctor adds that even though many speakers have been accused of being bias, accusations against Bagbin seem more prominent because of the tie in number of parliamentarians on both sides and also because a different party carries the wheels of governance.
Speaking to Samuel Eshun on e.TV Ghana’s ‘Fact Sheet’ show, he expressed: “I haven’t seen any speaker that has not been accused by the other side for being partisan. Speaker Ocquaye was accused by the NDC many times. Speaker Adjaho was accused by the NPP many times. Maybe the reason why this is becoming too prominent is just simply because of the tie in numbers that we have in parlaiment now and then also because the speaker is not from the party in government. Otherwise, I think it is normal to hear these accusations and I have heard the allegation against Bagbin over and over but if you ask me, I don’t think speaker Bagbin is being overly partisan.”
Further backing his point, he recalled that for the first time in the history of Parliament, a Deputy Speaker had overturned the ruling of the main Speaker. Yet, Speaker Bagbin handled the matter very well such that he did not go back to his earlier ruling. Rather, he ensured that parliament business moves on.
Background
Parliament on Monday night turned unruly during voting to consider the Electronic Communications Tax, (E-Levy) proposed by the government in its 2022 budget, under a certificate of urgency.
MPs from opposing sides of the house were at each other’s throat following an attempt by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu (NPP, Bekwai), who was presiding over proceedings, to vacate his seat momentarily to enable him join in the head count voting.
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