The Member of Parliament for Suame, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has resigned as the Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament with immediate effect.
This follows a crunch meeting between the Majority caucus, President Akufo-Addo and the leadership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Wednesday evening.
The meeting was convened by the President and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s 2024 flagbearer, to address escalating tensions within the NPP parliamentary group following news reports that Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu had been replaced with Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, thereby exacerbating internal discord within the party.
Afenyo-Markin to replace Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu as Majority Leader
Kyei Mensah-Bonsu’s voluntary resignation represents a significant moment in Ghanaian parliamentary politics, paving the way for the party and caucus to formalize the leadership changes that had been under consideration. This decision is viewed as an attempt to restore harmony and direction within the NPP’s parliamentary faction.
Deep-throat sources from the corridors of the Jubilee House revealed to newsalertgh.com, that NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, has been authorized to formally announce these changes within the next 24 hours. This announcement is expected to provide clarity on the leadership structure of the majority group and to 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 the selection of 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.”
