NDC's Alban Bagbin selected Ghana's Speaker of Parliament

The former MP for Nadowli Kaleo and a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has been elected as the Speaker of Ghana's 8th Parliament.

This comes after he polled 138 votes out of the 275 votes cast by Members of Parliament elected on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, January 7, 2021.

Alban Bagbin emerged victorious over his opponent, Professor Mike Oquaye who was the Speaker of Parliament of the previous 7th Parliament.

The election of the Speaker of 8th Parliament was marred with some controversies.

Earlier, the NDC Members of Parliament, clad in white, moved to sit on the right side of the Speaker to indicate they were in the majority which sparked serious controversy.

Later the issue of allowing the MP-elect for Assin North, Richard Quayson to vote in the election came up strongly. He was later allowed to vote after deliberations.

During the counting of the ballots, the Member of Parliament for Tema West and former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry snatched the uncounted ballots of Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye and attempted to flee from the Chamber.

The Chief Whip on the NDC side and MP for Asawase, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak immediately went after him and secured the ballots.

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Mr Bagbin is currently the longest-serving a member of parliament, having served since 1993 when the first parliament under the 4th Republic was inaugurated.

He has held several positions in Parliament since 1994 and capped his lawmaking career with the ultimate, the Majority Leader and Leader of the House.

In the first Parliament of the Fourth Republic, he was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy and Member of the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development.

In the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Mr Bagbin was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs with oversight responsibilities for the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Electoral Commission, National Commission on Civic Education, Office of Parliament and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

The MP for Nadowli Kaleo and former Majority Leader did not run again for Parliament in the 2020 elections.

In 2017, he contested the former President, John Mahama and six others for the position of the Presidential aspirant for the 2020 election.