Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has issued a strong warning to Members of Parliament (MPs) to attend sittings regularly or risk having their seats declared vacant.
The caution follows persistent low attendance in the House since Parliament resumed last week, an issue that has plagued proceedings for most of the year.
According to the Constitution, an MP who absents themselves from 15 sittings without the Speaker’s permission automatically forfeits their seat.
Speaking at the start of proceedings on Wednesday, October 29, Speaker Bagbin expressed deep concern over the poor attendance and vowed to strictly enforce the constitutional provisions on absenteeism during the current meeting.
“It’s for good reason we decided to hold sittings in the afternoons to give members time in the mornings to attend committee meetings, prepare reports, and meet constituents. By 2 p.m., you should be ready to sit,” he reminded the House.
He explained that the afternoon sittings were also meant to allow MPs to engage ministries and agencies during working hours, while evening sessions provided citizens the opportunity to follow proceedings.
“In the evenings, people can sit, watch, advise you, and make inputs. Yet we are not taking advantage of that. I’m saying this for the last time,” he stressed.
The Speaker further revealed that he had directed clerks at the table to keep detailed attendance records for the current meeting, warning that disciplinary measures would be enforced if absenteeism persisted.
“We have the Standing Orders, and we know what they say. We’ll take action to ensure that members are compelled to sit or be deemed to have vacated their seats,” he cautioned.
Mr. Bagbin lamented MPs’ poor attitude toward plenary sessions, noting that even those who attend regularly share his frustration.
He also disclosed that he had compiled attendance records from the first and second meetings of the year but had refrained from publishing them.
“I decided, for good reason, not to publish them but to give you a last opportunity. It seems that was a catastrophic mistake. I should have made them public and referred members to the Privileges Committee,” he concluded.
