Head of Opoku Agyei and Company, Julius Opoku Agyei says Members of Parliament who misconducted themselves during the election of the 8th Speaker of Parliament can be punished under the standing orders of Parliament.

Quoting portions of the standing orders, Mr. Opoku Agyei explained that the said MPs must be sanctioned in line with provisions of the 28th standing order of the House.

"If you look at the Standing Orders number 28, which is under contempt of Parliament or breach of privileges, [it states that] 'an act or omission which obstructs or impedes Parliament in the performance of its functions or which obstructs or impedes a member or officer of Parliament in the discharge of his duties or affronts the dignity of Parliament, or which turns either directly or indirectly to produce such a result shall be contempt of Parliament.

This comes after Members of Parliament voted to elect a new Speaker of Parliament to serve as the 8th Speaker of the House.

The election process has been described as chaotic, as scenes from the House exposed Members from both the NDC and NPP caucus misconducting themselves during the process.

In this light, there have been calls for MPs who engaged in any misconduct during the election process to be sanctioned.

Speaking on JoyNews' The Law, Mr Opoku Agyei said the misbehaviour of the Members of Parliament-elect on the dawn of January 7 did not amount to a breach of Ghana’s Public Election law.

This he says means that Members of Parliament who were involved and had fueled the riotous behaviour in the chamber could not be charged with committing an offence under the Public Election law, since according to him, the process of selecting a Speaker does not fall under the Public Election law.

However, he argues that per the standing orders, the said MPs must be brought to book since their conduct that dawn amounts to contempt of the House.

"I believe this is the proper provision [in Standing Order 28 of Parliament] under which they should be tried and if found guilty, the appropriate punishment meted out to them.

"The fact that they cannot be properly tried under one enactment doesn't mean that there is no enactment which can be brought in to deal with the conduct," he added.