The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has weighed in on recent remarks by Haruna Iddrisu, the former minority leader and MP for Tamale Central, regarding the National Democratic Congress (NDC) potentially forming the majority caucus when Parliament reconvenes.
According to the Mpraeso MP, it is needless for Iddrisu to trigger such a procedure as it is left with only about three months for the current parliament to come to an end.
Iddrisu’s claim hinges on the fact that four MPs from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have declared their intentions to contest the 2024 general elections as independent candidates.
He argued that this development could alter the parliamentary balance, possibly leading to the NDC becoming the majority.
Iddrisu also stated that he would seek an interpretation from the Speaker of Parliament on Article 97, which addresses the matter.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, October 14, 2024, Opoku strongly disagreed with this position.
“I think Haruna Iddrisu and NDC should not trigger any such a clause in parliament. Already the 137-137 parliament that we have is causing a lot of problems. We have less than three months to election and we are praying to see this parliament through for Ghanaians to decide. I strongly urge him that is it not proper, not constitutional to want to say that an MP who has duly been elected by the people, not just by the party, and decides to in a future election to contest on a different ticket, will seize to be a member of parliament,” he stated.
He referenced the flexibility political parties have in selecting candidates, even pointing to past instances where the NPP chose non-party members to represent them in elections.
“Even after you have gone through your primaries, the national council of the party can decide that for one of two reasons, you will not be the candidate of the party in a particular constituency because for them they are a point. In the same breath, the party can go and pick someone who is not a member of their party to represent them.
“So, you remember that in Bimbilla when the current defence minister who was not a member of the NPP was taken to represent the NPP in the constituency. So, saying that you only need to be an NPP member before the party selects you as a candidate to represent them in a particular constituency, for me does not hold,” he said.
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