In 2020, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) with its huge numbers in Parliament got the then-Speaker Mike Oquaye, to make a controversial decision, regarding Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena by sacking him from the House, for opting to contest that year’s election as an independent candidate.
The NPP, had requested that Speaker Oquaye, invoke Article 97 (1) (g) of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates that an MP vacate their seat, if they leave the party they were elected with to run as an independent.
Four years later, this precedent has backfired, with the NPP once again grappling with the fallout of MPs breaking ranks.
This time, Speaker Alban Bagbin, has used the same constitutional provision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant, including Asiamah’s. Now, the NPP finds itself boycotting Parliament, calling for the Supreme Court to intervene.
A displeased Majority Leader and MP for Efutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, yesterday told reporters and accused the Speaker of dodging Court Bailiffs.
The affected MPs are, Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah, NDC MP for Amenfi Central; Andrew Amoakoh Asiamah, Independent MP for Fomena; Kojo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum, and Cynthia Morrison, NPP MP for Agona West.
This development, has shifted the balance of power in Parliament, with the NDC, now holding 136 seats, compared to the NPP’s 135, making the NDC the majority caucus.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, while campaigning for his re-election in 2020, said parliamentary candidates who break away from the NPP to run as independents, cannot help his government achieve its goals.
Within a matter of days, a letter from the governing NPP to Prof. Oquaye’s office, informed him of the MP’s decision to renounce Mr Asiamah’s party membership.
Prof. Oquaye, stated that Mr Asiamah, the MP for Fomena in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti Region, was no longer running on the ticket of the governing party, and according to the rules of Parliament and the Constitution of Ghana, the seat must be declared vacant.
He quoted Article 97 (1)(g) of the 1992 constitution of Ghana states that a member of parliament shall vacate his seat if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member.
“[To] all intents and purposes, he is no longer a member of the party,” Professor Oquaye, said in a ruling delivered on Saturday (7 November, 2020).
“He has pronounced himself publicly as an independent and has filed his papers to compete against the party in his official [capacity] as an independent on 7 December 2020.
“Having forfeited the membership of the party on whose ticket he was elected to Parliament, the operative language of the constitution is that, he shall – which is mandatory – vacate his seat in Parliament.”
All eyes are currently fixed on the Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, to see whether she can get Alban Bagbin’s marching orders on the MPs who forfeited their party affiliations and got their seats cleared, back in the House.
The Speaker of Parliament, had approved a motion that called for the four MPs to vacate their seats.
The motion was filed by former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and argued that the MPs, who are seeking to contest the upcoming December elections as independent candidates, must relinquish their parliamentary positions as outlined in the constitutional provisions governing parliamentary membership.
The motion highlights the interpretation that, by announcing their intent to run as independents, these MPs, have effectively forfeited their party affiliations, thus vacating their seats in Parliament.
Bagbin indicated that, “Honourable members it is important to point that the speaker is called upon by the standing orders of parliament, particularly order 18, to inform the house of the occurrence of a vacancy of the seat of a member under clause (1) b to e, g and h of article 97 of the constitution. Accordingly, I will proceed to inform the house that by the notification of the polls, the following MPs, are by their actions vacated their seats in parliament.
“The members are Honourable Peter Kwakye-Ackah, NDC MP for Amenfi Central, in the Western region, now referred to as an independent Parliamentary Candidate for the same constituency.
2. Honourable Andrew Amoako Asiamah independent member for Fomena constituency in Ashanti region, now referred to as NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency.
3. Honourable Kwadjo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum, now referred to as an independent candidate for the same constituency and finally Honourable Cynthia Mamle Morrison NPP MP for Agona West constituency in the central region, now referred to as an independent candidate for the same constituency.
“These MPs cannot be allowed by law and my good self to continue to pretend to be representing people that they don’t believe in and don’t have any loyalty for in this house any longer. The house is accordingly so informed.”
The ruling by Bagbin, echoes a similar incident from 2020, when then-Speaker Mike Oquaye, made a controversial decision regarding Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the MP for Fomena.
In October 2020, the governing NPP formally requested Speaker Oquaye to invoke Article 97 (1) (g) of the Constitution, which allows for the declaration of a seat as vacant under specific circumstances. Oquaye, agreed with this interpretation, leading to Asiamah’s expulsion from Parliament after he opted to run as an independent.
However, Speaker Bagbin, clarified that the prior ruling by Oquaye, does not hold precedent for his decisions, emphasizing that each Speaker, has the autonomy to make their own rulings.
He stated that once the notice of polls confirmed the four MPs’ intentions to run as independents, they could no longer retain their seats in the current Parliament.
Prior to Bagbin’s ruling, Oquaye, had expressed concerns, arguing that such petitions should originate from the NPP, rather than any external party, hoping that the current Speaker, would not entertain the motion to declare the seats vacant.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who addressed journalists in Parliament shortly after the Speaker had officially declared the four parliamentary seats vacant, stated, “We are boycotting Parliament until this matter is settled at the Supreme Court.
“The Speaker has no right to interpret the Constitution. We are clear that what he did was to interpret the Constitution and to the bidding of the NDC. We are going to go further to litigate. We have a process at the court. We will follow it up, if the court makes the pronouncements; we will respect the orders of the court,” he explained.
He further accused Mr Bagbin of conniving with the Minority to create confusion in the House.
“The Speaker allowed serving of the writs to do the bidding of the National Democratic Congress. It is so clear; we believe in the law. We, as the majority MPs in Parliament, are immediately boycotting Parliament,” he stated.
The NPP, side staged a walkout from the House minutes after the Speaker of Parliament, ruled for three of their seats to be declared vacant.
A visibly dissatisfied Afenyo-Markin, led the NPP MPs in a walkout, expressing frustration over Bagbin’s decision.
He had earlier filed an urgent legal action with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 15, seeking to halt the Minority’s petition to the Speaker concerning the fate of these MPs.
The legal challenge sought clarification on the constitutional crisis surrounding the MPs’ decision to run as independent candidates or under the NPP ticket.
President Akufo-Addo, was in 2020 quoted as saying “Anybody who is contesting as an independent candidate cannot be a diehard member of the NPP. If you’re NPP, you can’t contest independently,” the president said during his campaign in the Ashanti Region.
“Especially when you refuse to honour my invitation over the issue, then it means you don’t regard me [Akufo-Addo], and I can’t work with someone who doesn’t respect me,” Akufo-Addo said.
At least ten disgruntled MPs from the governing party, have announced that they will be running as independent candidates in the December elections.
