The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has urged the newly sworn-in Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North, Ewurabena Aubynn, to stay grounded, diligent, and committed to the trust reposed in her by her constituents.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 22, following her swearing-in, the Speaker congratulated Aubynn and reminded her of the weight of public service and the high expectations her constituents have placed on her.
“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.
“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,” he said.
Cautioning her not to be swayed by distractions, the Speaker said, “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.”
The swearing-in ceremony was, however, marked by a protest from the Minority Caucus, who walked out in objection to the Speaker’s decision to deny Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, an opportunity to make a statement before the event.
Aubynn’s assumption of office follows a controversial parliamentary rerun in the Ablekuma North constituency. The rerun was held in 19 polling stations after the Electoral Commission (EC) annulled the original December 2024 results due to numerous complaints of electoral irregularities and unauthenticated pink sheets.
The EC cited issues such as unsigned result forms, discrepancies in vote tallies, and procedural errors during the collation process as reasons for withholding the results and ordering a rerun.
In the rerun held on Friday, July 11, Ewurabena Aubynn of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) emerged victorious with 34,090 votes, narrowly defeating the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Akua Afriyie, who polled 33,881 votes.
