The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, today urged newly sworn-in Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North, Ewurabena Aubynn, to remain grounded, diligent, and deeply committed to the trust placed in her by her constituents.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 22, immediately following Aubynn’s swearing-in, Speaker Bagbin extended his congratulations and delivered a poignant reminder of the significant weight of public service and the high expectations her constituents now hold.
“I will take this opportunity to congratulate you and also urge you to be punctual, ever present in Parliament, be calm, listen more, learn from your colleagues, but please read everything, and not only the Constitution and the Standing Orders,” Speaker Bagbin advised. He continued, emphasizing the gravity of her new role: “You are now the hope of the people in the constituency. They are looking up to you to do something to improve their lives. It is a trust, and this I pray you don’t abuse.”
The Speaker also cautioned Ms. Aubynn against potential distractions, stating, “Four years is just a day. You will go back to them, and they will assess you this time based on your performance. So please don’t be misled by other people.”
However, the swearing-in ceremony itself was not without contention. The Minority Caucus staged a walkout in protest of the Speaker’s decision to deny Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the opportunity to make a statement prior to the event.
Ms. Aubynn’s assumption of office follows a controversial parliamentary rerun in the Ablekuma North constituency. The rerun was necessitated in 19 polling stations after the Electoral Commission (EC) annulled the original December 2024 results. The EC cited numerous complaints of electoral irregularities, including unsigned result forms, discrepancies in vote tallies, and procedural errors during the collation process, as reasons for withholding the initial results and ordering a fresh poll.
In the rerun, held on Friday, July 11, Ewurabena Aubynn of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) emerged victorious, securing 34,090 votes. She narrowly defeated her closest contender, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Akua Afriyie, who garnered 33,881 votes.