We shall only come to Parliament after the elections - Nii Lante Vanderpuye

Accra, Ghana - Nov 12, 2024 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) minority caucus, led by Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, MP for Odododiodoo, has vowed to stay away from Parliament until after the December polls.

This decision comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Speaker Alban Bagbin's declaration of four seats as vacant.

In an Interview with Channel OneTV on Novemebr 12, 2024, Vanderpuye cited "unnecessary spending" of taxpayer money as the reason for their boycott.

He emphasized that the NDC's focus is on election preparations and will resume parliamentary duties only after the polls.

“They should not waste the taxpayers’ money by asking us to come to Parliament in the next three weeks. We are not coming. We are concerned about elections, and we shall only come to Parliament after the elections. That should be at the back of their minds,” he said.

 “We want them to understand one fact that as far as we are concerned, issues about minority or majority are determined by the numbers in the house, so when we resume, the numbers will tell whether we are the majority, or they are the majority. This is not about the Supreme Court.

“…It is not for the NPP or the Supreme Court to define for us who are majority or minority in Ghana’s Parliament. We have our own procedures for determining who is a majority or who is a minority. When they were declared majority by Speaker Bagbin, did they go to the Supreme Court to seek that declaration?”

The dispute began when Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin challenged Speaker Bagbin's interpretation of Article 97(1)(g) of the Ghanaian Constitution. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Afenyo-Markin.

Source: Lead News Online