Bagbin declares Agona West, Fomena, two other seats vacant

Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has approved a motion that calls for four Members of Parliament (MPs) to vacate their seats. The motion was filed by former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu and argued that the MPs, who are seeking to contest the upcoming December elections as independent candidates, must relinquish their parliamentary positions as outlined in the constitutional provisions governing parliamentary membership.

The MPs affected by this decision are Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kojo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central). The motion highlights the interpretation that by announcing their intent to run as independents, these MPs have effectively forfeited their party affiliations, thus vacating their seats in Parliament.

Ruling on the matter in Parliament in Accra on Thursday, Bagbin indicated that “Honourable members it is important to point that the speaker is called upon by the standing orders of parliament particularly order 18 to inform the house of the occurrence of a vacancy of the seat of a member under clause (1) b to e, g and h of article 97 of the constitution.

“Accordingly, I will proceed to inform the house that by the notification of the polls, the following MPs are by their actions vacated their seats in parliament.” The ruling by Bagbin echoes a similar incident from 2020 when then-Speaker Mike Oquaye made a controversial decision regarding Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the MP for Fomena.

In October 2020, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) formally requested Speaker Oquaye to invoke Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which allows for the declaration of a seat as vacant under specific circumstances. Oquaye agreed with this interpretation, leading to Asiamah’s expulsion from Parliament after he opted to run as an independent.

However, Speaker Bagbin clarified that the prior ruling by Oquaye does not hold precedent for his decisions, emphasizing that each Speaker has the autonomy to make their own rulings. He stated that once the notice of polls confirmed the four MPs’ intentions to run as independents, they could no longer retain their seats in the current Parliament.

Prior to Bagbin’s ruling, Oquaye had expressed concerns, arguing that such petitions should originate from the NPP rather than any external party, hoping that the current Speaker would not entertain the motion to declare the seats vacant.

By: Abigail Arthur