Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has filed an injunction application at the Supreme Court, contesting the Minority’s attempts to declare the seats of Independent candidates vacant.
This legal move comes in response to former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu’s announcement that the Minority intends to invoke Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which states that an MP shall vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or opt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
Iddrisu has already taken steps to formally request the Speaker to declare four parliamentary seats vacant, including three Majority MPs and one NDC MP.
Should this motion succeed, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), currently holding 137 seats, would become the Majority party, dramatically shifting the power dynamics within the House.
With Parliament currently consisting of 138 Majority MPs and 137 Minority MPs, this potential change could reshape legislative priorities and strategies.
Legal experts, including Constitutional lawyer Justice Abdulai, have pointed out that the constitutional provisions regarding the vacating of seats are explicit, leaving little room for interpretation.
As the political landscape becomes increasingly fraught, the stakes are high for the MPs involved, whose futures in Parliament hang in the balance amid these unfolding developments.