Audio By Carbonatix

Members of Parliament (MPs) from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) marched out of the House on Tuesday morning after National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs occupied their seats.

Leading the NPP MPs, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, MP for Effutu, said they were retreating to their offices to await directives from the Speaker, Alban Sumana Bagbin, on the way forward.

According to Afenyo-Markin, they chose the path of peace rather than confronting their opponents to avoid chaos, insisting that Ghana is a peaceful country that should be maintained as such.

"Mr. Speaker has been part of our democracy since 1992. He is a senior lawyer, he has practiced in our courts, and I believe that even if Mr. Speaker disagrees with the Supreme Court, he knows what to do. Suffice it to say, at the risk of being repetitive, that we were not disrespectful of the chair when Mr. Speaker made his pronouncement, and the Majority Caucus disagreed with him. We didn't cause commotion here. We left quietly and told Mr. Speaker that the right place to express those grievances would be in court. So, we expect our brothers and sisters on the NDC minority side to do the needful. But it will all be for Mr. Speaker to make a final determination. The nation is looking up to Mr. Speaker; with all his years in politics, this is a crucial moment for him to add weight to what we have done to preserve the peace.

"NPP is for peace, NPP is for peace, NPP is for the peace of Ghana. We will not allow anyone to disturb the peace of this country. It is well known that we remain the Majority Caucus of this Parliament. You, the media, must add your voice to the advocacy to compel our colleagues to respect the rule of law."

He then led his colleagues out as they sang the NPP party anthem, while jubilant NDC MPs booed them, chanting, "Away, away, away."

The scenes unfolding in Parliament had been anticipated, following last week's confusion surrounding the Speaker's declaration of four seats as vacant and the subsequent stay of execution of the declaration by the Supreme Court.

The NPP MPs have been known to be in the majority since the beginning of this Parliament, albeit a very slim one.

While they have had 138 members, the NDC have had 137 to be in the Minority, until The Speaker announced that there have been four vacancies because four sitting MPs who are contesting the December 7, 2024 elections, have done so in contravention of the Constitution and have therefore vacated their seats automatically.

Three of the affected MPs were on the side of the NPP, while the fourth is an NDC MP. The Minority then assumed the Majority side, while the NPP Majority protested. In the meantime, and perhaps in anticipation of the coming confusion, Afenyo-Markin had gone to the Supreme Court for orders preventing the Speaker from ruling on the matter.

The Court however, stayed the Speakers declaration of vacant seats, until it deals with the matter.

There have been various arguments supporting or condemning the action by the Supreme Court, with it's critics saying it acted wrongly as it had no jurisdiction, or it overreached its powers and offered the petitioner more than he had asked for and that the behaviour was untenable. Other's yet claimed the Court was being more political than lawful, and that if it was minded to deal with the matter expeditiously, it would have refused an ex-parte application and invited the parties for a resolution.

But many others have defended the action of the Supreme Court, saying it is the only body in the country clothed with authority to interpret the constitution, and since the matter is one of disagreements on the constitution, the court was right.

Ahead of sitting, there has been heightened security at the Dome of the Accra International Conference Centre where parliamentary sitting is taking place.

There are multiple layers of security in place, including barricades, checkpoints, and scores of police officers on the ground, with access tightly restricted.