[BREAKING NEWS]: Supreme Court suspends Speaker’s ruling on 4 vacant seats

The Supreme Court of Ghana has paused the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant.

The apex court’s decision effectively keeps the four MPs in parliament pending further legal proceedings.

This follows a petition by Majority Leader and MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, which sought the court’s intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling by the Speaker.

The Speaker declared the four seats vacant following the decision of the legislators to cross carpets ahead of the upcoming December 7 elections.

The affected MPs are Peter Kwakyi Ackah of Amenfi Central, Cynthia Morrison of Agona West, Kwadjo Asante of Suhum, and Andrew Asiamah of Fomena.

While Peter Kwakyi Ackah, Cynthia Morrison, and Kwadjo Asante are contesting as independent candidates, Andrew Asiamah, who was in the House as an independent MP, is contesting the seat on the ticket of the NPP.

This comes after Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu, petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to declare vacant the seats of three Majority MPs and one Minority MP due to their decision to run as independent candidates in the December 7 polls.

This, he said, was in line with Article 97(1)(g) of the Constitution, which states that an MP shall vacate their seat if they leave the party they were elected under or seek to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.

Delivering a verdict on Thursday, October 17, 2024, the Speaker said that by announcing their intent to switch political allegiances, these MPs have effectively forfeited their party affiliations, thus vacating their seats in Parliament.