We must appoint Speaker of Parliament from the House – Majority Leader
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu wants the Speaker of Parliament to be appointed from the legislature.
He said appointing a speaker from outside Parliament is akin to appointing an army general to head the Ghana Immigration Service.
Speaking to the topic, “Constitutional amendment and Parliamentary reforms” on GBC News, the MP for Suame in the Ashanti Region said appointing a speaker outside parliament “… is like imposing an army general in the immigration service as a director-general.”
The convention currently is that, apart from Doe Adjahoe in 2013, successive speakers since January 1993 have come from outside the House, while their two deputies are either elected or appointed by consensus.
| Daniel Francis Annan | January 1993 – January 2001 | (1st and 2nd Parliament) |
| Peter Ala Adjetey | January 2001 – January 2005 | (3rd Parliament) |
| Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes | January 2005 – January 2009 | (4th Parliament) |
| Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo | January 2009 – January 2013 | (5th Parliament) First female Speaker |
| Edward Adjaho | January 2013 – January 2017 | (6th Parliament) |
| Aaron Mike Oquaye | January 2017 – incumbent | (7th Parliament) |
However, Article 95(1) of the 1992 Constitution stipulated how a speaker can be selected or elected.
It states that: ” there shall be a Speaker of Parliament who shall be elected by members of Parliament from among persons who are members of Parliament or are qualified to be elected members of Parliament.
However, Article 97(1)(b) of the constitution specifies that a member of Parliament elected as a Speaker vacates his or her seat.
The only person to have been in this position so far is Edward Adjaho who was the elected member for the then Akatsi South constituency but had to vacate his seat in 2013 when he became the Speaker.
Accusations of bias
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s suggestions raise questions of how issues of bias will be dealt with, as even lawmakers from the opposition side have often accused even Speakers coming from outside the House as bias.
In September 2014, the Minority in Parliament accused the Speaker of bias, in his dismissal of their motion for a Parliamentary inquiry into the controversial sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity Fund.
In March 2018, the Minority in Parliament on a number of occasions refrained from taking part in discussions on the floor of the House despite being present, in protest of what they consider as ill-treatment from the Speaker, Mike Oquaye.