The suspension of four Members of Parliament by Speaker Alban Bagbin has sparked a heated debate over the limits of his authourity, with former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu questioning the legal basis for such a decision.
In an interview on Newsfile on JoyNews, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed doubts about the Speaker's actions, insisting that while parliamentary rules provide a framework for discipline, they do not explicitly grant the Speaker unilateral powers to suspend MPs. "The Speaker is right to have availed himself of the imperative of Order 342 of the new Standing Orders," he acknowledged, but he quickly pointed out what he sees as a legal overreach. "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 of such authority." The veteran legislator argued that while the Speaker has certain disciplinary powers, they do not extend to imposing suspensions without following due process. "The Speaker has the authority to cause the withdrawal of that person from the presence of Parliament," he noted but insisted that this does not equate to an outright suspension.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu did not hold back in his criticism of Speaker Bagbin's handling of the situation, questioning whether due process was followed before the suspension was enforced. "The Speaker has not only jumped the gun but has gone outside the prescription of the law to impose his sanction.
