I'm surprised Bagbin didn't check for quorum before passage of E-Levy – Ayariga

Ayariga says Bagbin should have checked for quorum

Bagbin checked for a quorum when the majority walked out during the passage of the budget – MP

Passage of E-Levy illegal – Minority

Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga says the minority caucus in parliament is surprised that Speaker Alban Bagbin

Read full articledid not check whether there was a quorum before the E-Levy was passed.

The MP (Member of Parliament), in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, said that the minority caucus was expecting the Speaker of Parliament to check if there was a quorum in the House for business to be conducted when they walked out of the House because he had previously done so.

"Remember that when the majority, not too long ago, on the day for the passage of the budget, decided to walk out, what did the Speaker do? He said I want to find out whether we have a quorum so that we continue transacting business and then he counted minority members in the chamber. We were 137, and he felt that there was a quorum to continue transacting business relying on the provisions of Article 102.

"So, we assumed that the legal position will be that when we walk out, anybody who wants to transact business will also check; the minority side having walked out, there should be at list 138 people to conduct business," he said.

Also, Ayariga indicated that there was no need for any of the minority MPs to be present to object to the passage of the levy, saying, "when the majority walked out when we (the minority) voted against the budget, no objection was raised, and it was the same Alban Bagbin who was presiding over the House. It was the Speaker, on his own, who after the majority had walked out, decided to check if there was a quorum."

Meanwhile, the minority caucus in parliament has indicated that the bill's passage was illegal, citing the lack of a quorum.

According to the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the House did not have the numbers to decide on the passage of the bill. He believes the recent Supreme Court ruling has been violated.

"The House had less than 137 in the chamber. They only proceeded in illegal business," he said.

Mahama Ayariga, Haruna Iddrisu and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa have filed a suit at the Supreme Court, asking the court to declare the approval of the levy null and void.