Parliament will resume sitting for its first meeting of the eighth Parliament today Friday, 15 January 2021.

The House adjourned sitting on January 7 which was characterised by drama during the election of the next Speaker of Parliament.

The election of Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin as Speaker and deputy speakers was followed by the inauguration of President Akufo-Addo and Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for a second term.

The House is expected to finalise which of the two sides form the Majority and Minority.

Three previous meetings held between the leadership of both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus in the House to resolve the matter have not yielded positively.

The December 7 election saw both the NDC and NPP garner 137 parliamentary seats apiece, with one independent MP, Andrew Asiamah Amoah of the Fomena constituency.

The NPP side thinks that the Fomena MP’s position will mean that they form Majority in Parliament.

 “When we met the Speaker three days ago, he determined for us that where the Fomena MP decides to pitch camp will determine where the pendulum will swing,” Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said at a press conference.

But the leader of the NDC caucus in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu disagreed with the NPP side.

Mr Iddrisu argued that the independent MP did not intend to join any side of the House.

 “Advisedly and wisely, he is not seeking to join a political party and therefore nobody should do the easy mathematics of a 137 plus one, He said.

He, also noted that the NDC side has no difficulty sitting on the left side of the Speaker in the Chamber as long as its numerical strength is considered and made to reflect in the composition of parliamentary committees.

“The composition should reflect beyond mere numbers and include other factors including leadership of committees,” Mr. Iddrisu said.