Private legal practitioner and former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr Freddie Blay has said that Speaker Alban Bagbin was clearly wrong in his ruling to declare for seats vacant.
He indicated that the view that the speaker was wrong was expressed in the decision of the Supreme Court to declare the action unconstitutional. "The ruling confirms what some of us have held all this while that the Speaker's position on the matter was wrong," Freddie Blay said on the Agenda show on TV3 on Monday, November 18.
In its full judgment on Thursday, November 14, the Supreme Court stated that an MP can only be considered to have vacated their seat if they change their political affiliation and remain in Parliament under this new identity.
The ruling, in favor of a suit brought by the Majority Leader, Alexander Afeyo-Markin specified that Articles 97(1)(g) and (h) of the Constitution apply solely to the current parliamentary term and do not extend to future terms or scenarios where an MP might seek re-election under a different party.