Declaration of 4 vacant seats; Speaker's action cannot be challenged in court-Ansa-Asare

Kwaku Ansa-Asare, former Director of the Ghana School of Law, has stated that Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin's decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant cannot be contested in court.

Ansa-Asare's remarks follow Speaker Bagbin's declaration on Thursday, October 17, that four seats in Parliament were vacant. This came after a contentious debate spurred by a petition from Haruna Iddrisu, the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority Leader. The ruling impacted three seats held by members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and one by an NDC member.

Speaker Bagbin clarified that since the four Members of Parliament were running as independent candidates, they no longer had the mandate to serve in the current Parliament.

While the NPP has announced plans to challenge this decision at the Supreme Court, Mr. Ansa-Asare, speaking in an interview with JoyNews, pointed out that Parliament operates according to its standing orders and regulations. He emphasized that the Supreme Court cannot legally challenge or overturn actions following these rules.

He further explained that the matter was debated according to parliamentary procedures, leading to the Speaker's ruling. Ansa-Asare reiterated that decisions made in line with parliamentary practices are final and cannot be contested.