Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is set to rule today on the fate of four Members of Parliament who opt to run as independent candidates in the December 7 general elections.
This comes after a he requested for two days to deliberate on a motion filed by the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, seeking to have the seats of the four MPs declared vacant.
These Members of Parliament include the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, the MP for Fomena, who, according to Iddrisu, has now filed to contest the 2024 election on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), having previously served as an independent MP.
The other MPs facing challenges are Cynthia Mamle Morrison of Agona East and Kwadwo Asante of Suhum, both currently in Parliament under the NPP but now running as independents in the 2024 elections as well as Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central, Peter Kwakye-Ackah.
Haruna Iddrisu based his motion on Article 97 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which states that a member of Parliament shall vacate their seat if they leave the party they were elected with to become independent or if an independent member joins a political party.
The Speaker, aiming to provide what he described as a “reasoned ruling,” had postponed his decision, stating, “Do unto others what you want done to you. If you sow evil, you reap evil.”
On October 12, Haruna Iddrisu had publicly announced his intention to invoke Article 97 when Parliament reconvened during an NDC rally, challenging the status of the four MPs in question.