Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has applied for an injunction at the Supreme Court, challenging the Minority’s bid to declare the seats of four MPs—three independent candidates and one from the National Democratic Congress (NDC)—vacant.
This move comes in response to former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu’s announcement that the Minority intends to invoke Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which mandates that an MP vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or choose to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
Haruna Iddrisu has already communicated with the Speaker of Parliament regarding this matter, seeking to declare the four parliamentary seats vacant.
Should this motion succeed, it would allow the NDC, currently with 137 MPs, to become the Majority party, drastically altering the balance of power in the House, which presently consists of 138 Majority MPs and 137 Minority MPs.
Afenyo-Markin expressed his desire to avoid the precedent set in 2020 when then NPP MP Andrew Amoako Asiamah’s seat was declared vacant.
He argues that the Supreme Court should have the opportunity to resolve this constitutional issue, emphasizing the importance of legal clarity in such matters.
Legal expert Justice Abdulai has weighed in on the situation, indicating that the constitutional provision regarding the potential vacancy of the MPs’ seats is straightforward, leaving little room for interpretation.
He suggests that the MPs in question face significant legal challenges given their declarations of intent to run as independent candidates.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH
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