It is official! The National Democratic Congress Members of Parliament, who until a few minutes ago, were the Minority Caucus of Parliament of Ghana in the 8th Parliament, are now on the other side of the House - the Majority.

The unprecedented move and change happened on Thursday, October 17, 2024, after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, declared four seats in the House vacant.

It follows a move by the NDC MPs on the Speaker, based on Article 97 [1(g) & (h)] of the 1992 Constitution which states that “A member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member; or if he was elected a member of Parliament as an independent candidate and joins a political party.”

Background:

Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin disclosed on Tuesday that he has also applied for an injunction to stop the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from declaring some four parliamentary seats vacant.

According to the Majority Leader, his decision to seek the court’s intervention is informed by a memo sent to the Speaker by the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, who had earlier announced the intent of his caucus to invoke Article 97 (g) and demand that the seats of three New Patriotic Party MPs and that of an MP from the National Democratic Congress caucus be declared vacant.

The move by Haruna Iddrisu comes after the MPs for Agona West and Suhum, who are members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), filed their nominations to contest in the 2024 parliamentary election as independent candidates.

The independent MP for Fomena has also filed his nomination to contest in the election on the ticket of the NPP, and the Amenfi Central MP, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), also filed his nomination to contest as an independent candidate.

Article 97 [1(g) & (h)] of the 1992 Constitution states that “a member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member; or if he was elected a member of Parliament as an independent candidate and joins a political party.”

AE

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