The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has defended some of the decisions he made during the 8th Parliament, for which he faced significant criticism.
Speaking on The KSM Show on Friday, March 14, 2025, the Effutu legislator explained that he had to be assertive in the 8th Parliament because he was up against the formidable Minority Caucus.
He stated that some of his actions, including suing the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, over his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant, were necessary since both sides of the House were unwilling to engage in negotiations.
“I was alone, and I had to carry everything on my shoulders. So, seeing me boisterous, seeing me punching, it was a necessary intervention.
“For instance, when I eventually became Majority Leader and the Speaker ruled against us, people asked, ‘Oh, why didn’t you negotiate? Why did you run to the Supreme Court?’ All doors were shut completely shut, to any form of engagement,” he stated.
Afenyo-Markin further explained that the political climate at the time, especially with elections approaching, made it clear that the Speaker, as a member of the opposition, would not be neutral.
“The Speaker can never be neutral. The Speaker belongs to a party. And I knew that he was also doing the bidding of his party. The pressure that I put on him was similar, if not less, than the pressure he was receiving from his own party.”
He continued, “We had engaged him, but it was clear that while he would listen, he would not rule in our favor. And as the leader, I had to take action.”
The Minority Leader emphasised that allowing the Speaker’s decision to stand would have given the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) control over government business.
“What that meant practically was that there could be no government business. It also meant that the leadership of committees would have to change, altering committee compositions. Many people did not realize the implications of that.
“If it had been allowed to stand, the new majority would have dictated to the government what it should do. And our friends were eager to play that political game. I had no choice but to seek interpretation from the Supreme Court, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
