Ghana Parliament’s new Standing Orders take effect

The new Standing Orders of Parliament took effect from Tuesday, February 6, when the House resumed from the Christmas recess.

Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who made this known when he formally opened the First Meeting of the Fourth and Final Session of the Eighth Parliament of Ghana, noted that the new Standing Orders came into effect on January 2, 2024.

Standing Orders are the written rules, which regulate the proceedings of the House. 

At the beginning of Tuesday’s sitting, the Speaker asked for a roll call to be conducted for members of the House who were in attendance, which was followed by the recitation of Ghana’s national anthem by the Members of Parliament (MPs).

Order 14 (1) of the new Standing Orders states that: “At the commencement of a Sitting and after Prayers, the Speaker may cause to be conducted a roll call of Members of Parliament”

The Speaker explained that in line with Order 14 (2) Members shall attend a sitting of the House and sign a record of attendance in the Chamber that shall be manual or electronic.

He said the response to the roll call, a signed record of attendance at plenary or committee, shall be evidence of attendance of a Member in Parliament.

“Roll call! Honourable Members, pursuant to Order 14 (1) of our Standing Orders, a roll call will be taken, and a member is expected to respond to the roll call, which shall be evidence of attendance.”

Touching on the recitation of the Ghana National Anthem by the MPs, the Speaker noted that under the new Standing Orders of the House, it would be done at the beginning of the first sitting of every weeklong meeting.

Source: GNA