Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana

History
Joyce Bamford-Addo
First female Speaker of Parliament of Ghana


The first speaker of the Parliament of Ghana was Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist who was Speaker of the National Assembly from independence on 6 March 1957 until December 1957. Prior to Ghana's independence, the Governor of Ghana presided over the legislative council. This changed in 1949 when Emmanuel Quist became its first African president.[1] The Legislative Council elected Quist as its first speaker in 1951. The longest serving speaker was Daniel Francis Annan who served from 7 January 1993 to 6 January 2001. In January 2009, Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo became the first lady to be speaker of the Ghanaian parliament.[2]

Appointment and office tenure

Article 95 of the 1992 Ghana constitution provides for the election of a speaker from among the members of parliament or from persons who are qualified to be members of parliament. Where the speaker is elected from among the members of parliament, Article 97 of the constitution specifies that the Speaker vacates his or her seat in Parliament, triggering a by-election.[3] The only person to have been in this position so far is Edward Adjaho who was the elected member for the then Akatsi South constituency.[4] [5]

Deputy Speaker

There are two Deputy Speakers who are elected from among the members of parliament by the members. Both deputy speakers cannot be from the same political party.[3] The current Deputy Speakers are the MP for Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Owusu, of the National Patriotic Party and MP for Nadawli West, Alban Bagbin of the National Democratic Congress.[6]

Role

Article 101 of the Ghana Constitution stipulates that the Speaker presides at all sittings of parliament. Where the speaker is not able to do so, one of the two deputies presides. No parliamentary business can take place without the speaker in the chair. The speaker also takes precedence over all people in Ghana except the President of Ghana and the Vice President. In view of this, the speaker may act on behalf of the president if neither the president nor the vice president is able to do so. The constitution stipulates that there should be an election within three months of the speaker assuming the presidency due to the death or removal of the president and vice president. The Speaker does not have a vote in parliament. This means that when the votes are tied, the motion is lost. The Speaker is also the chairman of the parliamentary Service Board. The Speaker also appoints four additional members to this board. The sixth member of the board is the Clerk of Parliament.[3]

Past Speakers

Legislative Council of the Gold Coast

President Time frame Period
Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist1949 - 1951[1]Gold Coast

National Assembly of the Gold Coast

Speaker Time frame Period
Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist1951 - 1957Gold Coast

Parliament of Ghana

Speaker Time frame Period
Sir Emmanuel Charles QuistMarch 1957 - December 1957[7]National Assembly
Augustus Molade Akiwumi[8]February 1958 - June 1960National Assembly
Joseph Richard AsieduJuly 1960 - June 19651st Republic
Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta[8]June 1965 - February 19661st Republic
First MP to become Speaker
Nii Amaa Ollennu[8]October 1969 - January 19722nd Republic
Jacob Hackenbug Griffiths-RandolphSeptember 1979 - December 19813rd Republic
Daniel Francis Annan[9]January 1993 - January 20014th Republic
(1st and 2nd parliaments)
Peter Ala Adjetey[10]January 2001 - January 20054th Republic
(3rd parliament)
Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes[11]January 2005 - January 20094th Republic
(4th parliament)
Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo[12]January 2009 - January 20134th Republic
(5th parliament)
First female Speaker
Edward AdjahoJanuary 2013[13] - January 20174th Republic
(6th parliament)
Aaron Mike OquayeJanuary 2017[14] - incumbent4th Republic
(7th parliament)
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See also

References
  1. "Progress in the Colonies, 1940s-1950s". Janus. Cambridge University Library. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  2. "Speaker assures Fifth Parliament of diligence". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). www.fao.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. "Akatsi South Constituency by-election fixed for Feb 5". Political news. Ghana Home Page. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  5. "NDC's Ahiafor wins Akatsi South bye-election". Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  6. "Leadership of Parliament". Official website of the Parliaemnt of Ghana. Parliament of Ghana. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  7. Michael R. Doortmont, The Pen-Pictures of Modern Africans and African Celebrities by Charles Francis Hutchison: A Collective Biography of Elite Society in the Gold Coast Colony, Brill, 2005, p. 359
  8. "Rt. Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes". Parliament of Ghana. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2018.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  9. "Daniel Francis Annan Profile". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. "Peter Ala Adjetey Profile". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  11. "Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes Profile". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  12. "Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo Profile". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  13. "Adjaho sworn in as new Speaker". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  14. "New Speaker, MPs take oath". Ghanaweb. Ghanaweb. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Vice President of Ghana		 Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana Succeeded by
Chief Justice of Ghana
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