Parliament brawl: Some MPs unsure about safety in the chamber – Deputy Majority Chief Whip

Alban Bagbin emerges as Speaker after chaotic election

MPs fight over controversial e-levy bill

Parliament resumes sitting on January 25, 2022

Second Deputy majority chief whip, Habib Iddrisu, has expressed concerns regarding the safety of Members of Parliament in the legislature.

According to him, MPs are uncertain about their safety as a result of the recent brawls that had been witnessed in the 8th Parliament.

Speaking on GBC’s Breakfast Show on Thursday January 6, 2021, Honourable Habib Iddrisu decried the rate of violence and chaos in the House.

“I’m worried [about brawls in parliament]. At a point you get up to go to Parliament and you don’t even know if it is safe to go to Parliament because you don’t know what is going to unfold. When it unfolds you don’t know what will actually happen…whether your colleague is going to be hurt, whether it is you who is going to be hurt,” he lamented.

Background

The outcome of the 2020 elections saw the election 137 legislators each for political rival parties, National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party (NPP) and an independent candidate who was "cast out" of the NPP.

In what has been described as a hung parliament, many political scientists indicated at the time that it will be interesting to see how the two political rivals collaborated in the House considering the almost equal numbers of MPs.

At the inauguration of the 8th parliament, Alban Bagbin (NDC) in a chaotic election shrug of competition from the NPP’s Professor Mike Oquaye to emerge victorious in the speakership race.

This was the first time in the country’s political history that a Speaker was not from the governing party.

Again, the consideration of the 2022 budget statement presented a unique situation in the chamber where Bekwai MP and first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, presiding on the day counted himself as the “138th MP” to forum quorum to rescind an earlier rejection of the budget by all minority MPs.

The majority side consequently moved and approved the 2022 budget.

Another instance in parliament’s chamber was the vote to determine whether or not the e-levy bill should be considered under a certificate of urgency.

The Parliamentary sitting on Monday, December 20, 2021, was a sight to behold as parliamentarians threw punches at each other. This followed a disagreement on whether to allow Joe Wise to participate in the voting process.

Earlier before the parliamentary sitting was suspended for Joe Wise to take the chair, Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah had ruled on a voice vote in favour of the Majority to have the bill considered under a certificate of urgency.

Registering his displeasure with the ruling, Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, called for a vote of division where all non-MPs vacate the lobby whiles MPs proceed with the voting process.

Andrew Asiamah suspended parliamentary sitting for an hour only for the House to resume with Joe Wise in the chair.

After hearing what had transpired, he agreed to the minority’s request for a vote of division but announced that he will participate in the voting process.

The voting began with each MP on the majority side name being mentioned and counted but chaos broke out on the floor of parliament when Joe Osei-Owusu attempted to give way to Andrew Asiamah to take over proceedings to enable him cast his ballot.