‘I am focusing on my campaign’ – Fomena MP

Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the MP for Fomena whose seat was controversially declared vacant by the Speaker of Parliament, following a request from the NPP, has indicated that he is not worried about the Speaker’s decision.

According to Andrew Amoako Asiamah, a trained lawyer, he will confer with other legal practitioners on what to do after the December 7 elections.



Read full article/> “For now, I am focusing on the campaign. Let me cross this hurdle. After crossing this hurdle, we will see what to do. I do not want to distract myself. My focus is to get the campaign done. Once it is done, we will see what we will do. I will consider it together with other brains,” Amoako Asiamah said on Citi FM on Tuesday.

Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament on Saturday November 7, ruled that the Fomena seat was currently vacant following the incumbent MP’s decision to contest the election as an independent candidate. Andrew Amoako Asiamah lost the incumbent NPP’s parliamentary primary held in June 2020 under controversial circumstances, hence his decision to go independent.

The Speaker’s decision has been received with mixed reactions. Notably, Prof. Kwaku Asare aka Kwaku Azar has written that it is only a high court that can declare the seat vacant under such circumstances.

On October 13, the national executive of the incumbent NPP wrote to the Speaker of Parliament requesting that the seat be declared vacant by referencing Article 97(1)(g) of the Constitution.

The Speaker agreed with them and on Saturday ruled that the Fomena seat had become vacant in line with article 97 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.

The said Article 97(1)(g) reads: “(1) A member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament - (g) if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member.”