Former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has criticized Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to suspend four Members of Parliament following the chaotic vetting session on January 30, 2025.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu questioned the Speaker’s authority to impose such sanctions, arguing that neither the Standing Orders nor the Constitution grants him this power.
In an interview with Joy News, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu acknowledged that “The Speaker is right to have availed himself of the imperative of Order 342 of the new Standing Orders.”
However, he raised concerns about the basis of the Speaker’s authority, stating, “Now the question to ask is from where the Speaker is deriving his authority. Neither the Standing Orders nor the Constitution grants the Speaker any of such authority.”
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu further criticized the Speaker’s actions, suggesting that Bagbin had overstepped his bounds.
“The Speaker has not only jumped the gun but has gone outside the prescription of the law to impose his sanction. His own attitude and conduct is questionable,” he remarked.