Speaker Bagbin Has No Power to Suspend MPs – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Former Majority Leader questions the Speaker’s authority, argues that the Constitution and Standing Orders do not grant him such powers
- Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu insists neither the Constitution nor Standing Orders empower the Speaker to suspend MPs
- He accuses Bagbin of acting beyond his legal mandate
- The former Majority Leader challenges the Speaker’s decision, urging adherence to due process
Former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has strongly criticised Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to suspend four Members of Parliament following chaotic scenes during the vetting session on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu questioned the Speaker’s authority to impose such sanctions, arguing that neither the Standing Orders nor the Constitution grants him that power.
Speaking on Joy News on Saturday, he acknowledged that “the Speaker is right to have availed himself of the imperative of Order 342 of the new Standing Orders.”
However, he challenged the legal basis for the suspension, stating, “Now the question to ask is from where the Speaker is deriving his authority. Neither the Standing Orders nor the Constitution grants the Speaker any such authority.”
He further accused Bagbin of exceeding his powers, arguing that the Speaker had acted beyond legal prescriptions.
“The Speaker has not only jumped the gun but has gone outside the prescription of the law to impose his sanction. His own attitude and conduct are questionable,” he remarked.
