Trade and Industry Minister, Kobina Tahir (K.T.) Hammond has voiced strong opposition to the Speaker of Parliament’s recent decision to declare four seats vacant.

According to him, Alban Bagbin overstepped his authority, and the matter should have been referred to the Supreme Court for interpretation.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, Mr Hammond argued that the Speaker’s ruling was both legally and constitutionally flawed.

Read also: Speaker Bagbin declares 4 Parliamentary seats vacant

“The point is that seriously, constitutionally, legally, the Speaker is completely out of order; he is completely wrong on this ruling,” he asserted.

This comes after the Speaker of Parliament’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant, shifting the numerical advantage to the NDC side.

Read also: Power shifts in Parliament; NDC becomes majority caucus after Speaker declares 4 MPs seats vacant

The affected seats include three occupied by members of the incumbent party (now in the Minority) and one by the opposition NDC [Majority].

The legislators affected by the ruling are the NDC's Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah of Amenfi Central constituency, Andrew Amoakoh Asiamah of Fomena, Kojo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum in the Eastern Region, and NPP's Cynthia Morrison of Agona West constituency.

The Adansi-Asokwa MP criticised the Speaker’s conduct, accusing him of sowing discord throughout the tenure of the 8th Parliament.

He suggested that the latest ruling will only worsen the situation, creating more disruption within Parliament.

“Look at the chaos that the Speaker has introduced… and look at how he is climaxing it,” Hammond said, lamenting the difficulties the ruling will cause for parliamentary business.

Read also: It’s clear the Speaker did NDC’s bidding to give them an advantage – Afenyo-Markin claims

The Minister warned that the Speaker’s decision could bring government business to a halt, as the now-Minority side (formerly the Majority) has vowed to boycott proceedings.

“Who is going to do government business? The whole country is going to come to a standstill because we are not going to sit as Minority and do anything," he added.