GhanaWeb Feature by Amos Manteaw

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on October 17, 2024, declared four seats in Parliament vacant.

His decision followed a motion by the then Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to declare the four seats vacant.

These seats belong to Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah, National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Amenfi Central in the Western Region; Andrew Amoako Asiamah, Independent Member for Fomena Constituency in the Ashanti Region; Kojo Asante, New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Suhum in the Eastern Region; and Cynthia Mamle Morrison, NPP MP for Agona West Constituency in the Central Region.

In his ruling on Thursday, October 17, 2024, the Speaker noted that the decision by the affected MPs to contest in the December 7, 2024, elections as independents or on the ticket of a party different from the one on whose ticket they were originally elected, contravened Article 97(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

Constitutional backing for the declaration

The Speaker explained that the purpose of Article 97(g) and (h) is to prevent issues of cross-carpeting and defection, as witnessed in previous Parliaments.

He stressed that the intent of Article 97(g)(i) is to maintain party loyalty throughout the tenure of an MP in Parliament.

He further emphasized that, by their actions and the Notice of Polls issued by the Electoral Commission for the December 7, 2024, parliamentary elections, the affected MPs had vacated their seats.

As a result, the four MPs are no longer parliamentarians and will not participate in legislative activities.

Their constituencies will be left without representation in Parliament until further action is taken.

What the law says about their replacement (by-elections)

According to Ghana’s Constitution, Article 112 Clause 5 states: "Whenever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days after becoming aware that the vacancy has occurred; and a by-election shall be held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred, except that where the vacancy occurred through the death of a member, the by-election shall be held within sixty days after the occurrence of the vacancy."

However, there will be no by-election in the case of these four MPs.

Article 112 clause (6) of the Constitution explains that if a seat in Parliament is declared vacant three months before a general election, a by-election is not required to fill the seat.

Since the seats were declared vacant on October 17, 2024, and the general election is scheduled for December 7, 2024, which is less than three months away, no by-elections will be held.

"Notwithstanding clause (5) of this article, a by-election shall not be held within three months before the holding of a general election,” Article 112(6) states.

Background

The Minority, led by Cassiel Ato Forson, on Tuesday, moved for the Speaker to declare the seats of Agona West MP Cynthia Morrison, Suhum MP Kojo Asante, Fomena MP Andrew Asiamah, and Amenfi Central MP Kwakye Ackah vacant, citing Article 97(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

Dr. Forson referenced a precedent set in October 2020, when a similar ruling was made, and argued that the NPP caucus, based on its current membership, can no longer claim to be the Majority Caucus.

This motion sparked a heated debate between the two caucuses.

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, disclosed that he had filed a suit at the Supreme Court, seeking an interpretation of the provisions of Article 97. He also requested an interlocutory injunction to stop the Speaker from issuing a ruling on the matter, urging the Speaker to hold off until the Supreme Court made its determination.

However, the Speaker indicated that he had already made a decision and needed two days to prepare his justification before issuing the ruling.



AM/KA

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