The Head of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Edudzie Tamakloe, has expressed disagreement with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling regarding vacant parliamentary seats.
On Tuesday, November 12, the Supreme Court ruled against Speaker Bagbin’s declaration that four parliamentary seats were vacant, siding with a challenge brought by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
The court argued that Speaker Bagbin’s decision would disenfranchise the affected constituents by depriving them of representation.
On Thursday, November 14, the court issued its full judgment, explaining that an MP’s seat can only be considered vacated if they change their political identity and continue serving in Parliament under that new identity.
The judgment clarified that Articles 97(1)(g) and (h) of the Constitution apply only to the current parliamentary term and not to future terms when an MP contests elections under a different political affiliation. The court further stated that an MP’s seat is vacated if they switch political parties within Parliament while continuing to serve as a member of the new party.
“It follows from the above therefore, that the only plausible conclusion which must necessarily flow from a holistic and contextual reading of Article 97(1)(g) and (h) is that an MP’s seat shall be vacated upon departure from the cohort of his elected party in Parliament to join another party in Parliament while seeking to remain in that Parliament as a member of the new party,” the court concluded.
However, two dissenting justices in the same judgment opined that an independent MP who joins a political party must vacate the seat originally held as an Independent Member.
In an interview with Citi News, Edudzie Tamakloe maintained that the Supreme Court’s interpretation undermines parliamentary authority.
“We must not and we should not encourage double standards. We should not encourage dishonesty. Look, the people who drafted the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) constitution with respect, are not daft. They are very learned. They knew what they were doing and said, you forfeit your membership of our party.
“So as we speak now, per Article 9 of the NPP constitution, is Cynthia Morrison still a member of the NPP? So you are telling me that a non-NPP member can continue to be a member of parliament of the NPP?”
