I’m not perturbed by petition to declare my seat vacant – Amenfi Central MP
The Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central, Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, is unfazed by the petition filed by the Minority Caucus, seeking to declare his seat vacant.
In an interview on October 15, 2024, Mr Kwakye-Ackah noted that he was not concerned about the ongoing controversy surrounding his seat.
Rather, he is looking forward to serving the people of Amenfi Central as an independent candidate.
Mr Kwakye-Ackah ditched the National Democratic Congress (NDC), citing unfair treatment by the party’s leadership.
According to him, the party’s endorsement of his opponent as the NDC’s parliamentary candidate for Amenfi Central was a major factor in his departure.
“The announcement went out that I said I had given my support to the person who forged documents, and because of that, the court injuncted it [the parliamentary primary], and the person was declared unopposed. I felt that no, that is not fair. Sometimes they should treat people fairly.
“If you say you are going to rerun, give everybody a fair chance, and if the person loses fairly, he will understand. Why should you open the nomination and just take my money, just keep my GH¢45,000, which is no small money so I have decided that if the people want me, I will go independent,” he noted in an interview on Citi News.
This comment by the MP from Amenfi Central follows the injunction application filed by the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, challenging the Minority’s stance against four independent candidates.
This stems from a petition by Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu, to the Speaker of Parliament, requesting the seats of three Majority MPs and one Minority MP to be declared vacant due to their decision to run as independent candidates in the December 7 polls.
This is 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.
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.