The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, yesterday officially declared four parliamentary seats vacant, with barely 50 days to the election in December.

The Members of Parliament (MPs) affected are National Demo­cratic Congress (NDC)'s Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah of Amenfi Central, Andrew Amoakoh Asiama of Fom­ena, Kwadjo Asante, New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s MP for Suhum in the Eastern Region, and NPP's Cynthia Morrison of Agona West. •Andrew Asiamah Amoako, MP for Fomena Andrew Asiamah Amoako, MP for Fomena •Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, MP for Amenfi Central "Honourable members, it is important to point that the speaker is called upon by the standing orders of parliament particularly order 18 to inform the house of the occur­rence of a vacancy of the seat of a member under clause (1) b to e, g and h of article 97 of the constitu­tion. "Accordingly, I will proceed to in­form the house that by the notifica­tion of the polls the following MPs are by their actions vacated their seats in parliament," the Speaker said.

The decision follows an official petition to the Speaker by the NDC Member of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, to have the seats declared vacant since the MPs had crossed carpet.

Article 97 (1) (g) of the Consti­tution stipulates that an MP must vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or attempt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.