The ruling by the speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin declaring four seats vacant sets a dangerous precedent, undermining Members of Parliament's ability to plan their political futures without fear of immediate consequences, a United States-based Ghanaian Professor, Kwaku Asare, has said.Prof Asare says the ruling allows for arbitrary decisions where filing a nomination for a future election could be misinterpreted as a shift in allegiance in the current parliament, regardless of the MP's current conduct.The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin on Thursday, October 17 declared four seats in Parliament vacant.The constituencies and the lawmakers are :1.
Cynthia Morrison, the current NPP MP for Agona West constituency in the Central Region, who has filed to run as an independent candidate.2.
Kwadwo Asante, the current NPP MP for the Suhum constituency in the Eastern Region, who has also filed to run as an independent candidate.3.
Andrew Asiamah Amoako, currently an independent MP for the Fomena constituency in the Ashanti Region, who has filed to run in the upcoming election as a candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).The former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu had petitioned the Speaker to declare the seats vacant by invoking Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution which stipulates that a lawmaker must vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or attempt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.Commenting on this, Prof Asare, also a private legal prcatitioner said in a statement on his Facebook page shortly after the Speaker's ruling that "This broad interpretation risks destabilizing Parliament by prematurely vacating seats, disrupting voter-established balances, and eroding the principle that MPs serve their full term unless they explicitly change allegiance.