‘Speaker’ Joe Osei-Owusu Can Still Vote- Afenyo-Markin Defends
Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, MP, Effutu Constituency, has jumped to the defence of Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker over his conduct as the Presiding Speaker during the approval of the 2022 budget after Parliament rejected it on Friday, November 26.
The First Deputy Speaker included himself as part of the quorum required for MPs to approve the 2022 budget presented to the House by the Finance Minister.
Explaining the actions of the First Deputy Speaker as to whether or not he should form part of the quorum, the Deputy Majority Leader said on Joy FM in an interview monitored by Wontumionline.com that, the Constitution requires members present to vote, and since the 1st Deputy Speaker, who is also a member of the House, he has the right to vote.
“That is what the law says. It says that members present. Even so, whereas when it comes to the substantive speaker, Mr. Speaker himself, the Constitution is clear that he has neither an original vote nor a casting vote, if you come to our standing orders, Order 109, the presiding member or a Deputy Speaker presiding would not have an original vote, it was specific.
“It excluded the casting vote so that in itself means that, were there to be a tie of the 138 members present and voting coming out with a tie, the one presiding, in this case, Mr. Speaker would have exercised that right to cast his vote,” Afenyo-Markin said.
Muntaka Mubarak, in a reaction to the subject, described the majority members’ decision as being egoistic in approving the budget.
He disagreed with the 1st Deputy Speaker’s decision to vote for the approval of the budget.
According to the Minority Chief Whip, his side of the House will insist on a vote for every estimate of the 2022 Budget until appropriation.
What does the Standing Orders say
Order 108 of the standing orders talks about voting in Parliament.
It stipulates that, no question for decision in the House shall be proposed for determination unless there are present in the House not less than one-half of all the Members of the House, and, except otherwise provided in the Constitution, the Question proposed shall be determined by the majority of votes of the Members present and voting.
Also, the Speaker shall have neither an original nor a casting vote and if upon any question before the House the votes are equally divided the motion shall be taken to be lost.
A Deputy Speaker or any other member presiding shall not retain his original vote while presiding.