The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has rebuked the Minority caucus for boycotting Parliamentary proceedings without official permission, saying that this violates the Standing Orders of the house.

The Standing Orders of Parliament stipulate that a Member of Parliament who is absent for 15 sittings without the Speaker's permission and without a valid reason must vacate their seat.

The Speaker made this remark in response to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, who raised concerns about the absence of Minority representation in the Votes and Proceedings of Parliament. The Speaker said such a gesture was unacceptable.

The Speaker also noted that some MPs had been marked as absent without permission, and there were questions about the meanings of "walk-out" and "boycott".

“Some MPs have been captured for being absent without permission, some concerns have been raised on the definition of walk-out and boycott. The deputy Minority Whip has raised a very serious matter on the fact that from his knowledge, some members were not present yesterday, but they have been captured as present, as it’s an indictment on the officers of Parliament,” he said.

The Speaker further stressed the importance of attendance, citing Article 97 (1C) as the guiding principle for the presence of members in the house.

He explained that attending or not attending was a personal choice, but when a member chose not to attend, depending on their actions, they could be marked as absent or absent with permission.

“On the issue of attendance, Article 97 (1C) is very clear and that is what guides attendance of the house. So you can choose to attend or choose not to attend. When you refuse to attend, depending on your own action, you could be marked as absent or absent with permission. The burden now falls on the group to show evidence that my good self has granted you permission to absent yourselves in writing, not verbally; that any time a colleague of yours wants to attend court proceedings, you will solidarize with that colleague and that you will be absent so that the official report will capture that”, he explained.

This is not the first time that the Minority in Parliament has boycotted business activities in solidarity with James Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament for Assin North, who is facing trial over his dual citizenship.