The Member of Parliament for Tolon Constituency, Habib Iddrisu, has stated that the then-Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, was wrong in his decision to declare the Fomena seat vacant during the 7th Parliament.

According to the Tolon MP, who doubles as the First Majority Whip, the ruling by Prof. Oquaye, which was triggered by a letter written to him by the New Patriotic Party following a decision by Andrew Amoako Asiamah to contest the 2020 parliamentary election as an independent candidate, was an error in judgment.

He made this statement while arguing the difference in the recent case of four parliamentary seats declared vacant by the current Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, and the 2020 decision by Speaker Oquaye.

“The point I was making is that you cannot compare Speaker Mike Oquaye’s decision or ruling as the same thing as Speaker Bagbin’s in terms of procedure because in his case the New Patriotic Party had petitioned. In this case, the New Patriotic Party has not petitioned. In Mike Oquaye’s case, he had written to the Member of Parliament to respond; his right to be heard. In this one, it was not…” he argued on the Saturday, October 19, 2024, edition of Joynewsfile.

While articulating his stance on the matter, the host, Samson Lardy Ayenini, questioned the Tolon MP whether he thought the Speaker of the 7th Parliament was wrong in his decision, to which he responded in the affirmative.

“At the time Mike Oquaye ruled, same situation correct? My question to you now is, was Mike Oquaye wrong?” the host queried.

In response, the Tolon MP stated, “Yes.”

Speaker Bagbin, on Thursday, October 17, 2024, declared four seats vacant in accordance with Article 97 (g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

As part of his ruling, the Speaker also cited precedent in the 2020 case of Fomena MP, Andrew Amoako Asiamah.

However, the Supreme Court, on Friday, October 18, 2024, issued a stay of execution on Speaker Alban Bagbin's ruling, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant.

Parliament has thus been directed to recognize and allow the affected MPs—Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central), and Andrew Asiamah (Fomena)—to fully represent their constituencies and carry out their official duties.

The directive remains in effect, not for the 10 days initially requested by the applicants, but until the Supreme Court delivers its final ruling on the case.

The application to stay the Speaker's decision was filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, who sought the Court's intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling that would have affected three of their colleagues and one from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The application was filed ex parte, meaning that neither Speaker Bagbin nor Parliament was joined to the case.

GA

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