Bernard Ahiafor, the Member of Parliament-elect for Akatsi South, has been nominated as the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
Ahiafor, a lawyer and a seasoned lawmaker since 2017, will replace the outgoing 1st Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Wusu, who is exiting Parliament after over 15 years representing Bekwai.
Ahiafor’s nomination follows President-elect John Mahama’s endorsement of Speaker Alban Bagbin for another term.
Ahiafor, who is currently the Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, is expected to face little opposition for the 1st Deputy Speaker role, given the NDC’s commanding majority in the new Parliament.
His candidacy had been considered four years ago for the Second Deputy Speaker position, but it did not materialize after discussions to allow the NPP to occupy the post in the wake of Bagbin’s unexpected win as Speaker.
Meanwhile, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Fomena, has been reappointed as the Second Deputy Speaker of the 9th Parliament of the 4th Republic.
Amoako, who won the 2024 parliamentary election for the Fomena constituency with 14,543 votes against his opponent’s 6,925 votes, continues his unique journey in the legislature.
Notably, in 2020, Amoako resigned from the NPP to run as an independent candidate for the same seat and subsequently became the Second Deputy Speaker, nominated by National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka and seconded by Efutu MP Alexander Afenyo Markin.
Traditionally, the Speaker and 1st Deputy Speaker positions have been held by members of the same political party, with exceptions in the 4th and 8th Parliaments.
