Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has asserted that Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant constitutes an overreach of Supreme Court authority.
He argued that the Speaker’s actions violate Article 99(1) of the Constitution, which designates the High Court as the body responsible for determining the validity of parliamentary memberships.
Afenyo-Markin previously filed a suit in the Supreme Court against the declaration of the four vacant seats, claiming that the Speaker deliberately avoided being served with the lawsuit.
“We have witnessed a conspiracy between the Speaker and the Minority to create confusion in the House. It is evident that the Speaker evaded service of the writ to fulfill the NDC’s agenda.
As the Majority Caucus, we are boycotting Parliament until the Supreme Court resolves this matter, as the Speaker has no authority to interpret the Constitution,” he told journalists in Parliament on Thursday, October 17.
In a follow-up statement, he emphasized, “The Speaker’s actions represent a clear usurpation of powers granted to the Supreme Court of Ghana under Articles 2(1) and 130 of the 1992 Constitution, which explicitly empowers the Supreme Court to interpret and enforce constitutional matters.”
He also raised concerns about the Speaker’s disregard for ongoing judicial processes. “It is particularly concerning that the Speaker proceeded with this ruling despite being fully aware that the interpretation of Article 94(1)(g) was pending before the Supreme Court.
The Majority Leader had filed a suit against the Speaker and the Attorney General on October 15, 2024, seeking a constitutional interpretation of the provision and officially notified the Speaker during the parliamentary session on October 16.
Importantly, Parliament’s Legal Department was served the writ on October 16, a day before the Speaker’s ruling.”
On Thursday, October 17, Speaker Alban Bagbin declared four seats in Parliament vacant. The affected constituencies and lawmakers are:
- Cynthia Morrison, the current NPP MP for Agona West in the Central Region, who is running as an independent candidate.
- Kwadwo Asante, the current NPP MP for Suhum in the Eastern Region, also running as an independent candidate.
- Andrew Asiamah Amoako, currently an independent MP for Fomena in the Ashanti Region, who has filed to contest as a candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming election.
Former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu had petitioned the Speaker to declare the seats vacant by invoking Article 97(1)(g) of the Constitution, which states that a lawmaker must vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or seek to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
