A deputy speaker is not a Speaker – Joe Wise' comment that sparked chaos in parliament

Minority tables motion to overturn approval of budget statement

Professor Gyampo describes first deputy speaker’s conduct as a legal absurdity

Joe Wise suspends sitting for an hour after quashing minority motion

The first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, has defended his actions on parliamentary sitting on Tuesday November 30, 2021.

Joseph Osei Owusu, presiding over the sitting,

Read full articlecounted himself as part of members of parliament present, to add up to the number of majority MPs in the Chamber to take a decision to overturn the rejection of the 2022 budget statement on November 26.

But giving his ruling on a motion by the minority to have the approval of the budget reversed, Joseph Osei Owusu, drew a distinction between who a deputy speaker is and who a Speaker is.



To this end, he indicated that he was justified in participating to form the majority to take a decision on the floor on Tuesday November 30, 2021.

“Honourable, here’s my ruling. I have not heard anything here today which was not discussed yesterday. All the arguments that have been made were practically the issues raised and its contained in my ruling yesterday. A few matters though which I wish to classify. First it must be clear that a deputy speaker is not a Speaker. Indeed, Article 96 (1) of the Constitution says and I quote ‘there shall be two deputy speakers who shall be elected by members of parliament from among members of parliament,” he said.

“And to contrast that to ‘Mr. Speaker’ …Mr. Speaker is not a member of Parliament. I am a member of parliament and the Honourable second deputy speaker is a member of parliament and our role is to assist the speaker in managing this House. Any attempt to read and interpret the constitution of ‘Mr. Speaker’ to include the deputy speakers is a misreading and a misapplication of the constitution. But when Mr. Speaker is not available, either of us can preside over the House. So can any other member if necessary. Any other member can be elected by the House to preside. That member does not lose his right to be a member of the House” he further explained.

Meanwhile this did not go down with MPs on the minority side who continuously interjected when the ruling was being made.



The conduct of the first deputy speaker has sparked public debate on whether or not it is constitutional.

Also, Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, in a Facebook post has said that the conduct of the first deputy speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, is a legal absurdity.

“A reading of article 104 with its SPIRIT and perusal of the works of Erskine May, the man referred to as the Bible of Parliamentary Procedures renders what Joe Wise did a legal absurdity. You cannot be an impartial speaker, come down to be counted as a partial member to help constitute a majority and go up again to serve as speaker and insist that you never voted. The issue isn’t about voting. The issue is about a Speaker being counted as partisan member,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday December 1, 2021,” he wrote.