Caucuses in parliament cannot appoint leaders independently- Speaker

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has stated emphatically that the majority and minority caucuses in parliament cannot appoint leaders independently without consulting the leadership of their parties.

According to Mr. Bagbin, every political party plays a crucial role in the selection of leaders within the majority especially.

Mr. Bagbin made this statement during a parliamentary proceeding on Wednesday, February 21, while clarifying the protocol for appointing caucus leaders within Parliament.

This clarification by the Speaker comes at a time when reports indicate that the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) is planning to change the leaders of its majority caucus in Parliament.

“I have heard, listened and I know that the parties are having problems with this new definition of the new leaders, that is only where this confusion is coming from. The old order refers to party or parties, but this new one does not refer to a party but caucuses. The old order defines the majority leader as a member of parliament designated by the party or parties holding the majority of the seats as their recognized leader in the house. Now this new order says designate means appoints”.

He added; “The same standing orders talk about the majority caucus, and it says majority caucus means the members of the party or parties that have the largest number of seats. I don’t see the difference, the caucus is the party wing. That is the wing of the party in parliament. You cannot be talking about appointing or designating your leaders without the party leading the process. I don’t understand that, it’s the same definition here”.