Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has warned Members of Parliament (MPs) to attend sittings regularly or risk losing their seats.
The warning comes as the House continues to record low attendance, a trend seen since the session resumed last week and throughout most of the year.
Speaking at the start of proceedings on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the Speaker warned he would enforce the constitutional provision which stipulates that MPs who absent themselves for 15 days without permission will vacate their seats.
He noted that poor attendance would no longer be tolerated during the current meeting.
Alban Bagbin indicated the afternoon sittings were meant to allow MPs to engage ministries and public institutions during regular working hours, while evening sessions gave citizens the opportunity to follow parliamentary proceedings.
The Speaker stated that he had directed the clerks at the table to begin taking detailed attendance records for the current meeting and warned that sanctions would follow if absenteeism continued.
“It’s for good reason we decided that we’ll sit in the afternoons so that you can take the morning to attend committee meetings, prepare reports and attend to your constituents and that by 2 p.m., you should be ready to sit.”
“In the evenings, people have the opportunity to sit, watch, advise you, and make inputs. That again we are not taking advantage of. I’m saying this for the last time.”
“We have the Standing Orders. We know what they say. We’ll be taking action to ensure that members are compelled to sit or be considered to have vacated their seats.”
He continued. “I’m not happy with the way members value plenary sessions,” he said. “You yourselves, those of you who are always here, I see from your faces that you are with me in this matter.”
Speaker Bagbin disclosed that he had already compiled records of attendance from the first and second meetings of the year but had chosen not to publish them.
“I decided, for good reason, not to publish them but to give you the last opportunity. It looks like that was a catastrophic mistake I made. I should have brought it out and referred members to the Privileges Committee.”
