The Minority in Parliament says its decision to stage a walkout during the debate for the passage of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) was to cripple attempts for a quorum in the House.
The leader of the caucus said his side clearly strategized to frustrate the Majority’s push for the passage of the Bill into law.
Speaking during a press engagement shortly after the House passed the E-levy Bill, Haruna Iddrisu said the passage is illegal and unconstitutional because the Members present at the time fell short of the required 138 quorum under Article 104 (1) of the 1992 constitution, as affirmed recently by the Supreme Court.
He also alleged that Majority MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo was not in the House.
“We simply walked out to disable the majority to have a voting quorum. They were simply less than 137. I am using 137 because conspicuously, everyone in the world knows that Hon. Adwoa Safo was not present. Additionally, we know that there was an ambulance within the precincts of parliament and the person purported to have been in the ambulance was not present in the chamber for the purpose of voting, therefore every decision they took with 136 flies as a sin against the ruling of the Supreme Court.”
On Tuesday, Parliament passed the Electronic Transfer Levy in the absence of the Minority MPs, who had walked out before the Bill was considered at the second reading stage.
The Minority had complained that it had been taken by surprise by the unexpected consideration of the levy.
The E-levy was not listed in Parliament’s business statement for this week. The Minority MPs later walked out of Parliament before the second reading of the Bill after debating it.
