Some NDC MPs didn't vote for me; NPP votes made me Speaker in 2021 – Bagbin

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has revealed that some members of his own National Democratic Congress (NDC) did not vote for him during the 2021 parliamentary Speaker election, saying he relied on support from the then ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to win the position.

He said some NPP MPs supported his candidature because they trusted him to be fair and impartial in presiding over Parliament.

Speaker Bagbin made the revelation at the 2026 National PR Summit in Koforidua on Thursday, October 22, while recounting how he became Speaker of the Eighth Parliament.

“I had the details. It's not all NDC members who voted for me. I know what I'm talking about. Many more NPP members voted for me to become the Speaker,” he said.

Speaker Bagbin's election on January 7, 2021, was one of the most contentious events in Ghana's parliamentary history.

He contested the position against the then Speaker, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, who was nominated by the NPP.

The election took place after the 2020 general election produced a hung Parliament, with the NPP and NDC each securing 137 seats, while an independent candidate elected in Fomena later aligned with the NPP.

Speaker Bagbin won with 138 votes against Professor Oquaye's 136, with one ballot rejected.

The voting process was marred by confusion and physical confrontations, prompting the intervention of military and police personnel to restore order.

His victory made him the first Speaker in Ghana's Fourth Republic to be elected from an opposition party.