Julius Opoku-Adjei, a Legal Practitioner, is calling for a review of the methodology used in selecting a Speaker of Parliament.
His suggestion is coming on the back of the melee that ensued between MPs prior to the election of a new Speaker on Thursday (6 December).
Contempt of Parliament
Speaking on The Law on Joy News, Opoku -Adjei noted the actions of the MPs amount to contempt of Parliament.
“We should pass a legislation stating where that election stands and how it should be conducted,” he stated.
“We are still evolving and our experience from Thursday shows us that we should be very clear in how we go about this thing. For instance, look at what happened with the sitting in parliament, it shouldn’t have happened.
“My opinion is that election of Speaker is not a public election so whatever happens there, the people cannot be punished under our public election laws. Standing Orders of Parliament make provisions for punishing people whether MPs or strangers who misbehave in Parliament. So, they can be punished under the Standing Orders of Parliament. What they did amounts to contempt of parliament,” Opoku-Adjei stressed.
Meanwhile, speaking on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday, panelists pushed for sanctions against MPs found culpable of disturbing the peace of the House during the election.
Affront to democracy
Mukhtarh Mumuni Mukhtar, a Security Analyst for the West Africa Centre for Counter Extremism, said misconduct at the level of leadership is an affront to the country’s democracy.
“This is something we must take very seriously, so there should be sanctions applied,” he said.
For his part, Dr Siddique Ahmed, Communication Expert, said the apology by Parliament confirms that the development in the House was shameful.
“Assuming it happened on the street, we have a situation where someone is gone to jail and banned from voting for five years, so in conclusion there should be some sanctions,” he said.
Apology
Parliament has since apologised, describing the pandemonium in the House in the lead up to the inauguration of the Eighth Parliament as regrettable.
Parliament said it would put those incidents behind it and work towards a more focused and unified membership.
Fred Dzakpata
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