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A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Baba Jamal, has conceded that the New Patriotic Party will constitute a thin majority in the next parliament on the basis of official declaration by the Electoral Commission.
Speaking to Evans Mensah on Joy FM’s Newsnight program on Thursday after the NDC was declared winners of the outstanding Sene West Parliamentary elections, Jamal said that going by what the Electoral Commission has so far declared in the Parliamentary elections, the NPP will have a tight edge in the House, but warned that his party intends to challenge certain constituencies.
Jamal’s admission was in response to Dan Botwe, who stated on the program that the NPP will form the majority because the only independent member of the next parliament, MP-elect for Fomena, has agreed to sit with the NPP.
“If you want to go by what the electoral commission is saying, then we have 137 and they have 137. We have heard the declaration by the independent candidate that he is going with them, the NPP. That does not deter us from holding the government accountable to do the right thing in parliament,” said the NDC legal team member.
“I agree with him. On simple majority, yes they have majority in parliament.”
The senior NDC official, however, added that the NPP would not always have it easy in the House with their thin majority when it comes to voting.
“On the issue of voting I have been in parliament before and I know how difficult it is to get everybody in line. But if they can mobilise all their people on each issue and vote 138 against 137, that will be it. But on the face of it, they have the majority, they have gotten the 138.”
“For now, that is what the electoral commission is saying and we will go by that officially. But we know that when it comes to voting in parliament, government is always at the losing end because not always will it have its members in parliament.”
The former Akwatia MP, however, served notice that his party will challenge the declaration of about five constituencies.
With the decision of the Independent MP for Fomena to sit with the NPP, which gives the governing party a simple majority, the NPP will now choose the next Speaker of Parliament as well as the First Deputy Speaker.
The NPP will also choose chairpersons for the various committees of the House with the exception of the Public Accounts Committee.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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