The speaker of parliament Alban Sumanah Bagbin has today October 17, 2024 declared vacant four seats of parliamentarians who has decided to run independent in the 2024 election.
This declaration of the seats vacant arose from the Members of parliament declaring their intentions to go independent in the 2024 elections after they lost their seats in their various party primaries.
The four MPs include Cynthia Mamle Morrison for Agona West, Kwadjo Asante for Suhum, both NPP MPs who have both filed with the Electoral Commission to contest the next parliamentary election as independent candidates.
Andrew Amoako Asiamah, MP for Fomena who was expelled from New Patriotic Party in 2020 but went ahead and won the election as an independent candidate has now returned to contest on the ticket of his former party, the NPP.
The fourth member is Peter Kwakye-Ackah law maker for Amenfi Central who came into the house on the ticket of National Democratic Congress (NDC) but has also filed to contest the 2024 parliamentary elections as an independent candidate.
The 1992 constitution of Ghana stipulates in Article 97 that an MP shall vacate a seat;
“1) A member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament—
“(g) 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
“(h) if he was elected a member of Parliament as an independent candidate and joins a political party.
In line with this practice on October 13th, 2020, the NPP triged article 97 (1)g by writing to the then Speaker Prof. Mike Oquaye for the seat of Fomena occupied by Andrew Amoako Asiamah to be declared vacant.
Prof. Mike Oquaye subsequently delivered his ruling on the request in parliament on November 7, 2020, Saturday.
He said “With all intents and purposes, he is no longer a member of the party. He has pronounced himself publicly as an independent and has filed his papers to compete against the party in his official candidate as an independent on 7th December 2020. Having forfeited the membership of the party on whose ticket he was elected, to parliament, the operative language of the constitution is that, he shall – which is mandatory – vacate his seat in Parliament”.