Attorney General, Godfred Dame has filed his statement as the second defendant in the Supreme Court case brought by Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
The case challenges the Speaker of Parliament's decision to oust four Members of Parliament (MPs) who declared their intent to run as independent candidates ahead of the December 2024 elections.
In his statement, filed on October 21, 2024, Mr Dame argued that the Constitution does not mandate the vacation of a seat by an MP who files to contest a future election as an independent candidate or under a different party ticket.
Read also: Speaker adjourns sitting indefinitely amid vacant seats controversy He emphasised that an MP's seat can only be vacated during the current term if they switch parties or become independent within the lifespan of the existing Parliament. "Filing nomination to contest an upcoming election for a place in a future Parliament does not lead to a vacation of seat," the statement reads, adding that the filing by an MP to contest in a future election does not impact their status in the current Parliament.