Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has clarified his position amid a growing dispute over which party holds the majority in Parliament.

This clarification follows his recent declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant a move the National Democratic Congress (NDC) claims now gives it a majority status in the House.

The Speaker emphasised that seating arrangements are not within his mandate.

The Speaker’s declaration has spurred heated debate among MPs, with each party interpreting the impact of the vacant seats on parliamentary majority differently.

However, Speaker Bagbin has emphasised that, while Ghana’s parliamentary conventions are influenced by the Westminster model, they do not mandate specific seating assignments based on majority status.

“It is not part of the duties of a speaker to decide where an MP should be in parliament. That determination in Ghana’s constitution doesn’t exist,” Speaker Bagbin stated on Wednesday, 6 November 2024, adding that such matters are determined by party leadership, not by the Speaker.

He further explained that although Ghana’s Parliament has traditionally aligned itself with the Westminster system, which usually places the majority on the Speaker’s right, it has evolved unique practices over time.

“In various parliaments, these things we are talking about, majority and minority, don’t exist any longer. That is why, in my ruling, I used the term ‘old school,’ which is the British model; the government and opposition,” he explained.

Speaker Bagbin highlighted that Ghana’s parliamentary seating follows a horseshoe arrangement, rather than a strict left-right division seen in Westminster, allowing flexibility in the seating of MPs.

"You can sit anywhere, but the numbers determine who is the majority and who is the minority,” he remarked, underscoring that it is the majority’s strength in numbers, not location, that ultimately defines its power in Parliament.

Speaker Bagbin urged MPs to focus on unity and productive dialogue rather than seat allocations, reminding them that parliamentary order and functionality should remain a top priority.

“In our parliament, the practice is for those who constitute the majority to sit on the right side of the speaker and those who constitute the minority to sit on the left side of the speaker,” he said.

He added: “But it is not always the case that people on the left side are all members of a minority. That is not the case now, and there is good reason.”