Alexander Afenyo-Markin, now the Minority Leader, has announced that Andrew Asiamah Amoako, the Fomena MP and former 2nd Deputy Speaker, plans to take legal action against the Speaker’s declaration of four vacant parliamentary seats.
During a press conference on October 18, the Effutu MP asserted that the Speaker’s decision denies Fomena constituents their right to representation in Parliament.
“I am in communication with Honorable Amoako Asiamah, and I’m pleased to report that he is also filing a separate suit due to the Speaker’s conduct,” he stated.
Afenyo-Markin criticized the Speaker’s ruling, expressing that it undermines democratic principles.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, had declared the four seats vacant on October 17, after the Fomena MP, along with two other NPP MPs and one NDC MP, expressed intentions to run as Independent Candidates in the upcoming 2024 elections.
The former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, had previously 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 attempt to serve as an independent candidate.
Following Bagbin’s ruling, the NPP MPs expressed their disagreement and have vowed to contest the decision.
