Vacant Seats: I’m not surprised by the ‘transactional’ Speaker’s declaration - Martin Amidu

Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has expressed that he was not surprised by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant, following a petition from National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs.

Amidu noted that anyone familiar with Bagbin’s decision-making style, which he describes as “transactional,” would have anticipated the Speaker’s ruling on October 17, 2024.

“Any objective citizen familiar with the modus operandi of the Speaker of Parliament in his usual vacillatory transactional decision-making since the rejection of the Government’s 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the eventual approval of the same budget, the passage of the estimates, and the E-levy by Parliament, presided over by the same Speaker, would have predicted how the transactional chips were going to fall,” Amidu said.

He added that Bagbin's declaration was aligned with the Minority Leader's request to declare the seats vacant, which would subsequently grant the NDC a majority status in Parliament, with 136 seats to the NPP’s 135.

Amidu, a former Attorney General, further asserted that the Speaker’s move to declare the four seats vacant would not stand when challenged in the Supreme Court.

He explained that the Speaker essentially invited the Supreme Court into the matter by acknowledging the issue of constitutional interpretation in his own ruling.

Amidu elaborated: “The Speaker himself recognized that the interpretation and enforcement of the Constitution lies with the Supreme Court, not the Speaker. Nonetheless, he proceeded to interpret Articles 97(1)(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution in his declaration.”

Amidu concluded that the Speaker's involvement in constitutional interpretation was a clear encroachment on the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, and he predicted that the Court would assert its authority when the case is brought before it.

Both the NPP and NDC, he added, are using the situation to rally public support for the 2024 elections, engaging in tactics that undermine the integrity of the political process.

Background:

The Speaker’s declaration came after NDC MPs petitioned for the four seats to be declared vacant, following the decision of the affected MPs to contest the upcoming December 2024 elections as independents or on different party tickets.

The declaration would have shifted the balance of power in Parliament, making the NDC the majority party. However, the Supreme Court stayed the Speaker’s ruling on October 18, 2024, pending further review.

The affected seats include those held by Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has adjourned the meeting of the House sine die (indefinitely), just a week after Members of Parliament reconvened following a long recess.





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