No NDC MP should step foot in Parliament if recalled – Asiedu Nketiah

The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has instructed the party’s Members of Parliament to boycott any emergency recall of Parliament, which is currently on an indefinite break.

According to him, such sessions are aimed at advancing corrupt agendas.

Speaking to supporters in the Western Region on Saturday, November 16, Asiedu Nketiah alleged that with the December 7 polls fast approaching, the majority caucus has no genuine justification to reconvene Parliament other than to pursue dubious objectives.

“…Let no NDC MP set foot in Parliament. If they like, they can go and burn the sea. There’s no work in Parliament that can be said to be an emergency. There’s no emergency. Parliament will only be recalled so they can continue with the insatiable corruption they have perpetrated for the past eight years.

“They still want to advance the corruption with just three weeks left. We won’t go close to them today or tomorrow. So, the judges should say what they want, parliament also has its own rules and we will work with that,” he stated.

Mr Asiedu Nketiah’s comes after the apex court on Tuesday, November 12, ruled that the Speaker’s declaration of four parliamentary seats vacant was unconstitutional.

This ruling was in favour of a challenge presented by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

In the judgment detailing why it upheld the suit by the Majority Leader in Parliament, the court held that a Member of Parliament (MP) can only be considered to have vacated their seat if they change their political identity and remain in Parliament under the new identity.

The court clarified that Articles 97(1)(g) and (h) of the Constitution are applicable only to the current term of Parliament. These provisions do not apply to future terms, such as when an MP contests elections under a different political affiliation.

The court stressed that an MP’s seat is vacated if they switch parties within Parliament while continuing to serve as a member of the new party.

Similarly, an independent MP who joins a political party will have to vacate the seat originally held as an Independent Member.

The court’s judgment indicates that the constitutional provisions in question are specific to the present term of Parliament, emphasising that they do not address an MP’s political choices for future election cycles.