The former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, has waded into the debate about declaring some four parliamentary seats vacant.
In his view, the minority, which is pushing for that action to be taken, took the wrong step, as they, as parliamentarians, have no locus in that regard.
Speaking to JoyNews’ Elton Brobbey, Prof. Oquaye expressed concern over the petition submitted by former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, stating that such a move would be illegal without a formal complaint from the affected political parties and a fair hearing for the MPs involved.
Reacting to the petition from Haruna Iddrisu, he said “He’s wrong because the benefit is not his. The law does not stand to his inurement. He has no locus because he doesn’t belong to the party involved. So, it is the NPP that can trigger the removal of the MPs.”
DUE PROCESS
When asked about MPs leaving or being expelled from their political parties or running as independent, Prof. Oquaye stressed that political parties must follow due process.
Former Speaker Mike Oquaye further clarified that the former Minority Leader cannot compel the Speaker to declare the NPP and NDC seats vacant, as the political parties will have to trigger the process and the MPs involved must be given a hearing.
He explained that, “If he leaves his party, if he has been sacked by his party, if the party starts any disciplinary action against him, it is the party who knows. You cannot pronounce anybody guilty, you cannot kick out a Member of Parliament for Parliament unless there’s a process of hearing him.
“And that’s why I’ve given you the background of that legal provision. It is to correct a certain mischief that can be operated against political parties,” he added.
RULING
Touching on his ruling in the Andrew Amoako Asiamah matter, on which the minority has cemented their case, the former Speaker said due process was followed.
“In fact, it was some parts of the executive that initially were protesting. I told them they have no locus in that matter. If they wanted to do what they purported to do, they should let their party do it.
“So the NPP as a party wrote to the Speaker stating why they were withdrawing their support because according to the constitution, this person had betrayed his allegiance to the party,” Prof. Oquaye stated.
WISE
Today, the current Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, is expected to state a position on the matter.
When asked about that, Speaker Oquaye was hopeful his successor is one of the pillars of Parliament and will navigate the issue wisely.
Prof Oquaye said “The current Speaker is a very experienced man. He’s one of the fundamentals of Parliament. I believe that he will go by the way that I’m talking about.”
