Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is set to deliver his ruling on whether the seats of four members of parliament (MPs) should be declared vacant. The ruling expected to be delivered later today would have consequences on the composition of the eighth parliament.
The members of parliament involved are; MP for Agona West, Cynthia Morrison, MP for Suhum, Kwadjo Asante, Fomena MP, Andrew Asiamah, and Amenfi Central MP, Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah. The charge against them is that they have filed to contest the 2024 parliamentary elections as independent candidates which the National Democratic Congress (NDC) minority believes infringes the 1992 Constitution.
While the minority cites the ruling of former Speaker, Professor Mike Ocquaye, in 2020 which led to the declaration of the Fomena seat vacant, the former speaker criticising the minority, says a member of parliament cannot be vacated from the house without a hearing.
“You cannot pronounce anybody guilty, you cannot kick a member of parliament from parliament unless there is the process of hearing him or giving him or her the chance to be heard” he told Joy News.
The former speaker believes the current speaker Alban Bagbin would present the affected MPs a chance to be heard.
Also, the Dean of the University for Professional Studies, Law Faculty, and Professor Kofi Abotsi supports the call for the members of parliament involved to be heard. According to him, the members of parliament are not representatives of themselves hence, should they be ousted from parliament unlawfully, there would be dire consequences on the constituents they represent.
“A member of parliament is not representative of himself and if kicked out unlawfully, among the consequences, you are depriving a whole group of people representation in parliament,” he said.
Professor Abotsi added that “it is a decision that is not to be taken lightly and therefore while there must be consequences for constitutional breaches, those consequences must be arrived at not lightly just so we ensure we do not compromise not only the constitution itself but also the very people the member of parliament represents.”
Last Tuesday, Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu on the floor of parliament made a statement imploring the speaker to declare the seats of the MPs involved vacant believing they have crossed carpets and violated the political parties’ constitutions.
He invoked Article 97 (1) (g) of the Constitution, which stipulates that an MP must vacate his or her seat if the person abandons the political party under which they were elected, or if they opt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
This sparked a debate between the minority and the majority with the majority demanding the speaker dismisses the petition. The Speaker, Alban Bagbin on Tuesday deferred making a ruling and asked for more time and is expected to give a verdict on the matter today.
