4 Vacant seats: MP drags Speaker to High Court to stamp Oct 17 ruling

Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has filed a writ at the Accra High Court against the Speaker, Alban Bagbin.

In the writ, the MP requested the court to compel the Speaker to confirm whether the four vacant seats in the legislature are still held.

The MP further claimed that the Speaker should declare that the four legislators have vacated their seats to contest the upcoming election on tickets other than the one that brought them into the House.

The writ also demanded that any composition of Parliament after October 17, involving the affected members is unlawful and illegal.

The Member of Parliament (MP) stated that the October 17 ruling is valid because the Speaker’s move is backed by provisions of Article 97(1)(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

The MP, therefore, asserted his claim that “an order should be directed at the Defendant to ensure that Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah, Member of Parliament for Fomena; Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Member of Parliament for Agona West; Mr Kwadwo Asante, Member of Parliament for Sohum; and Mr Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central, no longer have access to the chamber of Parliament to participate in parliamentary proceedings.”

The development has since sparked conversations within the country’s judicial sector, with some supporting the Speaker’s declaration, while others have opposed the move, arguing that the Speaker did not adhere to the laws governing the House.

Meanwhile, Parliament has not returned to work since the Supreme Court also objected to the declaration of the vacant seats.

Read the full writ filed

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Background

On October 18, the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution on Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant.

Parliament was, in essence, instructed to recognise and allow the four MPs to fully represent their constituencies and carry out their official duties.

This directive will remain in effect, not for the 10 days initially requested by the applicants, but until the Supreme Court delivers its final ruling on the case.

The application to stay the Speaker’s decision was filed by NPP MPs who sought the Court’s intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling that would have affected three of their colleagues and one from the NDC.

The application was filed ex parte, meaning that neither Speaker Bagbin nor Parliament was joined to the case.

This allowed the Court to consider the NPP MPs’ request without requiring the participation or response of the Speaker or other parliamentary authorities at this stage.