Haruna Iddrisu has no locus to petition Parliament to declare four seats vacant - Prof Oquaye

Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has raised concerns about a petition submitted by the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, which is seeking to have four parliamentary seats declared vacant. 

The petition targeting four incumbent members of parliament, three of whom have filed to contest the December 7, 2024 parliamentary elections as independent candidates. The fourth MP, currently an independent candidate has filed to contest on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to Prof Oquaye, Haruna Iddrisu has no locus in the matter since the law doesn’t benefit him, as he is not part of the NPP adding that only the NPP can initiate the process to remove its MPs.

The petition, filed on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 by Tamale South MP, is calling for the four seats to be declared vacant.

The said MPs are Cynthia Mamle Morrison for Agona West, Kwadjo Asante for Suhum both from the NPP, Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah for Amenfi Central from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who have filed to contest December 7, 2024 parliamentary elections as independent candidates and Andrew Asiamah Amoako, an independent MP for Fomena who has now filed to contest December 7, 2024 on the ticket of the NPP.

During a parliamentary debate on the matter on Tuesday, some MPs referenced Prof. Oquaye’s previous ruling on a similar case in 2020 involving the Fomena MP, Andrews Asiamah Amoako and urged the current Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to apply the same reasoning.

However, in an interview on JoyNews, Prof. Oquaye highlighted key differences between the two cases.

He emphasised that the petition should be handled cautiously, stating that it was unnecessary.

He pointed out that the NPP had previously written to the Speaker to withdraw support for an MP, based on constitutional grounds, when that MP was perceived to have betrayed the party's allegiance.

Prof. Oquaye further stressed that if an MP leaves their party or is expelled, the political party itself must follow due process to handle the situation.

He thus expressed confidence that Speaker Bagbin, with his extensive experience, would carefully navigate the matter.