Accra: The Members of the Ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana have elected Mr. Bernard Ahiafor, MP for Akatsi South, as the First Deputy Speaker, and Mr. Andrew Asiamah Amoako, MP for Fomena, as the Second Deputy Speaker in an early morning session.

According to Ghana News Agency, the inauguration activities continued as Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin suspended the first sitting of the first meeting of the new Parliament session shortly after 2:40 AM. The House is scheduled to reconvene at 10:00 AM at the Independent Square where President-elect John Dramani Mahama will be inaugurated.

Earlier, at 1:50 AM, Mr. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin was re-elected and sworn in as the Speaker of the Ninth Parliament. Bagbin, who served as Speaker in the previous Parliament, was nominated by Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Majority Leader, and seconded by Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader. The Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, administered the oath of allegiance and the oath of office to him.

The proceedings of the Ninth Parliament were overseen by Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the Acting Clerk to Parliament. He presided over the election and subsequent swearing-in of the Speaker and his deputies. Members of Parliament-elect began entering the Chamber at 10:45 PM in preparation for the electoral process.

In anticipation of the inauguration, families, traditional rulers, and well-wishers of the Members of Parliament-elect were observed taking their seats in the public gallery of the Chamber of Parliament as early as 9:00 PM. The event marks a significant moment in Ghana's political landscape as the country welcomes its new parliamentary leaders.