Despite the fact that one of the MP’s representing the majority party was incapacitated as a result of an accident, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, asserts that the adoption of the new tax laws went off without a hitch.
On his way to participate in a vote on the new tax bills that were presented to parliament, Mohammed Hardi Tuferu, Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Nanton, was involved in an accident.
According to the Speaker, the fact that he included Mr. Hardi Tuferu in the headcounts that were performed on the floor of the parliament was not inappropriate behavior on his part.
“Members who are incapacitated are required to report their incapacity to the Speaker through the Clerk, at which point their incapacity will be recorded.
There are some of our members who are unable to perform their duties, so what I did was ask the whips to visit those members in order to evaluate their level of incapacity as well as determine whether or not they are of sound mind.
In spite of the unfortunate event, the legislator was able to participate in the activity with the assistance of his fellow members of the Majority caucus before being transported to the hospital.
As the member of parliament was being driven to the building in an ambulance, the Speaker gave instructions to the whips on both sides of the chamber to provide more information regarding the situation.
After the procedures were completed, Speaker Alban Bagbin provided an explanation as to why the lawmaker’s vote was counted in the final tally.
According to the results of the headcount votes, 136 members of parliament (MPs), representing the minority caucus, voted against the bill, while 137 members of parliament (MPs), representing the majority caucus, voted to approve the new tax bills.