The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has resigned from his position.
The decision follows a crucial meeting between the Majority caucus, President Akufo-Addo, and the leadership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Wednesday evening.
The meeting was reportedly called at the instance of the President and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s 2024 flagbearer, to address rising tensions within the NPP parliamentary group following reports that Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu had been replaced with Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, causing further discord within the party.
The voluntary resignation of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is a significant moment in Ghanaian parliamentary politics, as it paves the way for the party and caucus to formalize the leadership changes that were under consideration.
This decision is seen as an attempt to restore harmony and direction within the NPP’s parliamentary faction.
Sources from the Jubilee House have revealed that NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, has been given the authority to announce these changes within the next 24 hours formally.
This announcement is expected to clarify the majority group’s leadership structure and set the stage for a new phase of governance in Parliament.
This leadership transition comes after Wednesday’s ruling by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban SK Bagbin, which emphasized the role of political parties in selecting parliamentary leaders.
The speaker clarified that while the new standing orders grant powers to the caucuses in choosing leaders, such decisions must be made per the direction of the party.
“I have heard, listened and I know that the parties are having problems with this new definition of the new leaders, that is only where this confusion is coming from. The old order refers to party or parties, but this new one does not refer to a party but caucuses.”
“The old order defines the majority leader to mean a member of parliament designated by the party or parties holding the majority of the seats as their recognized leader in the house. Now this new order says designate means appoints.”
“The same standing orders talk about the majority caucus, and it says majority caucus means the members of the party or parties that have the largest number of seats. I don’t see the difference, the caucus is the party wing. That is the wing of the party in parliament.”
“You cannot be talking about appointing or designating your leaders without the party leading the process. I don’t understand that, it’s the same definition here.”