Speaker Bagbin declares 4 Parliamentary seats vacant
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin has officially declared four parliamentary seats vacant with barely two months to the election in December.
This ruling means that Ghana’s hung parliament which gave the governing New Patriotic Party a slight upper hand as the Majority side with the support of an Independent Member of Parliament, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, will not tilt towards the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The legislators affected by the ruling are the NDC’s Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah of Amenfi Central constituency, Andrew Amoakoh Asiamah of Fomena, Kojo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum in the Eastern Region, and NPP’s Cynthia Morrison of Agona West constituency.
In delivering his ruling, the Speaker after a long reading, stated that if Article 97 (1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution was only to apply to a future parliament, then there would have been no need for it to exist since the MPs in question would have completed the term of the current parliament.
The Speaker also noted that once the notice of polls had duly confirmed that the four MPs were going independent, they had no business to remain as MPs in the current parliament.
He thus proceeded to declare their seats vacant.
The decision follows an official petition to the Speaker by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu.
It comes after extensive discussions and arguments presented by both the Majority and Minority sides of the House concerning the petition filed by former NDC Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu.
The petition specifically targeted three New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs and one MP from the NDC, invoking Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution.
This constitutional provision stipulates that an MP must vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or attempt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
This situation has sparked significant debate within Parliament, highlighting the political tensions between the ruling party and the opposition.
During a heated parliamentary debate on Tuesday, Speaker Bagbin acknowledged the gravity of the matter and requested an additional two days to deliver a well-reasoned ruling.