The Acting Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, has announced that Parliament will hold its first sitting of the Ninth Parliament under the Fourth Republic on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
The session, scheduled for 12:05 a.m. at Parliament House in Accra, will focus on the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers. The administration of oaths to the Speaker and Members of Parliament will also take place during this inaugural sitting.
The announcement, made through an official notice from the Parliamentary Service, read:
“KNOW YE ALL MEN that in the exercise of the Powers conferred on the Clerk to Parliament, I, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Acting Clerk to Parliament, appointed under Article 124 of the Constitution and pursuant to Order 8(2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, do hereby appoint Parliament House, Accra, to be the place and five minutes past twelve midnight (12:05 a.m.) of Tuesday, the 7th day of January, 2025 to be the time when Parliament shall sit to elect a Speaker and Deputy Speakers and for the administration of Oaths to the Speaker and Members of the Ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.”
As Parliament prepares for this pivotal event, debate has intensified over whether the incoming administration led by President-elect John Dramani Mahama will retain the current Speaker, Alban Bagbin, or opt for a new candidate.
The Majority Leader of the eighth Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has argued for the next Speaker to be an elected Member of Parliament (MP), highlighting the importance of parliamentary expertise. Speaking on the matter, he stated: “Mr Speaker, if they sack you,
Mr Speaker, of all that you have done for them, they are going to sack you. If they decide to retain you, the happiness of this House will gather further momentum.
“However, if the new government decides to bring a new Speaker, that Speaker should come from within. We don’t want an outsider. We want somebody from within who would understand us.”
This first sitting is expected to set the stage for the legislative direction of the Ninth Parliament, as Ghana’s political leadership embarks on a new chapter under the Mahama administration.
