The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four seats vacant has attracted criticisms from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) legislators.
Effutu MP and now Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has described the ruling as biased.
According to him, it is a conspiracy between Speaker Bagbin and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to give the latter an advantage in the House.
The affected MPs are Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadwo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).
Cynthia Morrison and Mr Asante are NPP MPs who have filed to contest the 2024 general election as independent candidates.
Mr Asiamah who is an independent candidate and Second Deputy Speaker has also filed to contest on the ticket of the NPP while Mr Ackah, an NDC MP will also contest as an independent candidate.
However, Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu who the decision did not go down well with invoked Article 97 (1)(g) of the constitution, challenging their eligibility to still themselves as MPs.
The Speaker on Tuesday when the motion was filed requested for two days to rule on the matter and did so on Thursday, October 17.
The ruling has caused a major upset in parliament as there has been a shift in powers.
With the NDC now holding 136 seats, it will move from been the Minority to the Majority while the NPP will be Minority after losing its 138 seats to 135.
Bagbin’s decision has affected the following four MPs:
Cynthia Morrison, a former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection on August 22, 2024, declared her intention to go independent during an interaction with constituents.
This was months after she lost the NPP parliamentary primary held on Saturday, April 13.
Madam Morrison garnered 152 votes, while Christopher Arthur emerged victorious with 240 votes, securing the nomination as the Parliamentary candidate.
Boafo Kwadwo Asante – Suhum
Mr Asante, who is the sitting MP for Suhum also on September 2, announced he will be contesting the 2024 election as an independent candidate.
Oboafo Kwadwo Asante, who was seeking a second term in office, lost the party’s nomination to Frank Aseidu Bekoe, popularly known as Protozoa, who garnered 496 votes against Asante’s 320.
The unexpected defeat has led Asante to declare his intention to continue his political journey independently.
Peter Kwakye Ackah – Amenfi Central
For Mr Kwakye-Ackah, he cited unfair treatment by the NDC after businesswoman, Joana Gyan Cudjoe was elected as the NDC Parliamentary Candidate.
However, the Electoral Commission has disqualified Madam Cudjoe from contesting the election due to an interlocutory injunction.
Kwakye-Ackah has stated that despite the disqualification of Cudjoe, he remains open to working with the NDC to build a united front.
Andrew Amoako Asiamah – Fomena
Andrew Amoako Asiamah was sacked from the NPP after deciding to contest the 2020 election as an incumbent MP who was disqualified from the parliamentary primaries.
Former Speaker, Prof Aaron Mike Ocquaye subsequently declared his seat vacant which means this will be the second time he will suffer same fate.
However, he won the 2020 election and returned to parliament in January 2021 as an independent candidate, who opted to do business with the NPP.
Ahead of the 2024 election, he announced that he will not contest on the ticket of the NPP.
