Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin Seeks Court Injunction Against Parliamentary Seat Vacancies

ACCRA: Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament, has filed a writ at the Supreme Court seeking an injunction that would prevent the Parliament from forcing sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), who intend to contest as independent candidates in the upcoming December 7 general election, to vacate their seats. According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Afenyo-Markin announced the legal action during the Leaders' Media Briefing at Parliament House in Accra. The injunction was filed in response to a memo to the Speaker by Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, former Minority Leader and National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Tamale South. Mr. Iddrisu's memo requested that three sitting MPs contesting the 2024 general election as independent parliamentary candidates and a current independent member of the House, now contesting on a political party's ticket, be made to vacate their seats. The MPs in question include Madam Cynthia Mamle Morrison, NPP MP for Agona West; Mr. Kwadj o Asante, NPP MP for Suhum; and Mr. Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, NDC MP for Amenfi Central. Additionally, Mr. Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the Independent MP for Fomena and Second Deputy Speaker, is now contesting on the NPP ticket. Mr. Afenyo-Markin highlighted that members of his Caucus who had filed to run as independents in the 2024 general election had not officially informed him of their intent to vacate their seats. He affirmed that his Caucus remains intact and emphasized the need to test the constitutionality of the relevant parliamentary laws. Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana stipulates that an MP must vacate their seat if they leave the party that elected them to join another party or seek to remain in Parliament as an independent member. The situation echoes the 2020 general election ruling by Speaker Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye, who declared the Fomena Parliamentary Seat vacant following Mr. Andrew Amoako Asiamah's decision to run as an independent candidate. Mr. Afenyo-Markin expressed that this legal challenge would serve as a critical test and interpretation of the nation's Constitution by the judiciary.