The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, has declared the Fomena Parliamentary vacant.
He has accordingly, written to the Electoral Commission (EC) to inform it about the decision of the House for the necessary action to be taken.
This follows the filing of nomination by the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP), Andrew Amoako Asiamah, to contest the seat again in the December 7, 2020, parliamentary election, this time, as an independent candidate.
The NPP saw the move by the MP an an affront to the party’s constitution and that of the 1992 constitution and therefore wrote to the Speaker informing him about the forfeiture of Mr. Amoako’s membership from the elephant family.
Mr. Amoako has gone to Parliament on the ticket of the NPP.
“The steps taken to contest against his party automatically triggers forfeiture of his membership. Having forfeited his membership of the party on whose ticket he was elected MP, the operative language of the constitution is that he shall which is mandatory, vacate his seat in Parliament. Going by the interpretation of the law, constructive actions on the part of the MP are important. He has pronounced himself publicly as an independent candidate and has filed his papers to compete against the party and its official candidate as an independent on 7th December, 2020”.
” On that occasion, this current parliament will still be sitting and operating as official parliament for the Republic of Ghana. We shall not have a situation adopted freely by any sitting MP where he or she will be campaigning openly against a party that he or she still represents in Parliament and yet ridiculously stand against the party knowing purposely that the interpretation of the law will not allow such ridicule to prevail. Furthermore, after 7th December, 2020, when Parliament is still in session till 7th January, 2021, how does an MP operate both as an elected NPP MP if he should win the election? This lacuna of ridiculous situation is not what is anticipated under the 1992 constitution. In the circumstances, Parliament has decided that the conduct of Hon. Andrew Amoako Asiamah Manso vacating his seat in Parliament accordingly, will bring notice this notice to the Electoral Commission for the necessary action to be taken in accordance with the law”, the Speaker announced.
