Bagbin’s decision not to reverse counter-rulling by Joe Wise commendable – CDD

The Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Dr. Kojo Asante, has commended Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for his decision not to reverse the rulings of the his deputy, Joe Osei-Owusu, which were against his earlier rulings.

According to the Senior Research Fellow, the action by the Speaker shows for the way for ensuring harmony and peace in this hung parliament.

Speaking on Citi FM and Citi TV’s news analysis show ‘The Big Issue, Dr. Asante said given the weight of rulings of a Speaker of Parliament, partisan politics must not be made to take centre stage in rulings that are given.

“I have to commend Bagbin for the restraint. For me, that is the path that they have to go to correct the way that they are engaging in parliament. On two occasions he has refused to overturn a ruling of his deputy that has overturned his earlier ruling. He has showed restraint and I think that opens the door for talking and discussions on how best to deal with this matter [chaos in parliament,” he said.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, last Wednesday took on his first deputy, Joseph Osei Owusu over the latter’s decision to dismiss a private member’s motion seeking to probe the government’s COVID-19 expenditure.

According to him, such actions are illegal and offensive and must not reoccur, especially when he had already admitted the motion.

“The penchant of the First Deputy Speaker [Joe Osei Owusu] to overrule my ruling is, to say the least, unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive. Be that as it may, I shall not be taking any steps to overrule the decision of the First Deputy Speaker to dismiss the motion as moved by the Hon. Ranking Member of the Finance Committee,” he said but Mr. Osei Owusu has in a statement said Bagbin’s comment takes a “rather dangerous approach to democracy” and indicates intolerance to divergent views.

Dr. Asante, while commenting on the development said, extra care must be taken with regards to rulings made in parliament by the Speaker of Parliament or anyone presiding as speaker.

“We have to be careful so we don’t play Ping-Pong with it. [Ruling] has to show consistency. If we introduce unnecessary politics into it just to secure something for our benefit, it is going to be a problem, so I am happy that Bagbin took that approach,” he added.