Former Speaker Condemns Minority’s Attempt To Declare 4 Seats Vacant

Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has criticised the Minority in Parliament over a petition requesting the seats of four MPs to be declared vacant.

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.

However, Prof Mike Oquaye said the Minority has no grounds to make the request as the legislators crossing the carpet are not members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He said it is the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) that has the right to trigger the process to declare the seats vacant.

“He’s [Haruna Iddrisu] wrong because the benefit is not his. The law does not stand to his inurement. He has no locus because he doesn’t belong to the party involved. So it is the NPP that can trigger the removal of the MPs.

“And that’s why I’ve given you the background of that legal provision. It is to correct a certain mischief that can be operated against political parties,” he argued.

Prof Oquaye also expressed his belief in Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ability to handle the issue effectively through the right processes.

It will be recalled that Prof Mike Oquaye, during his tenure as Speaker of Parliament four years ago, removed an NPP MP for Fomena, Andrews Asiamah, from the house under similar circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has filed an injunction application at the Supreme Court to challenge the Minority’s stance against the four independent candidates.

Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, October 15, Mr Afenyo-Markin said a Supreme Court ruling would settle the ongoing controversies surrounding the four seats.

The majority leader was of the view that the law does not permit by-elections within three months of a general election which would mean the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would lose three MPs if the motion succeeds.

This would consequently make the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which currently has 137 MPs the Majority, shifting the balance of power in parliament in a crucial election period.

He further stated that this could cause irreparable damage to the affected legislators, whose names will be expunged from the 8th Parliament of the Republic of Ghana.