The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced that it will wait for the Supreme Court’s decision before determining its next steps regarding the Members of Parliament whose seats have been declared vacant.
This announcement follows a controversial ruling by Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who declared the parliamentary seats of two NPP MPs and two others vacant after a motion filed by former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu.
The motion, based on constitutional provisions, argued that MPs who either switched political affiliations or contested elections as independent candidates must vacate their seats. These provisions are designed to maintain stability and integrity in parliamentary representation, requiring that MPs who no longer represent the party under whose ticket they were elected to forfeit their seats.
Speaker Bagbin’s decision to declare the four seats vacant has sparked a heated political debate, with members of the NPP’s Majority caucus criticizing the move.
They argue that the Speaker acted prematurely and may have overstepped his authority by making such a ruling without allowing for further legal review and procedural discussions.
NPP Deputy General Secretary, Haruna Mohammed, reiterated that the party will not make any final decisions regarding the affected MPs until the Supreme Court has issued its ruling on the matter.
“For us, we are in full support of the majority’s decision to stay out of parliament until a determination is made. But as a party, we would decide if a determination is made by the Supreme Court, then the party and National Executive Committee will take a decision on this matter.
“So until then, we will all be looking to the Supreme Court to take a decision as soon as possible so that we can bring finality to this particular matter.”