UPSA Law Dean says MPs defecting to Independent Candidate status can be reported by anyone
Professor Kofi Abotsi, the Dean of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School, has stated that any individual, not just political parties, can report Members of Parliament (MPs) who defect from their party or choose to run as independent candidates. He clarified that this authority is not solely vested in political parties.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, October 17, Prof. Abotsi explained that MPs primarily serve as agents of the constitution, and only secondarily as representatives of their political parties, which merely serve as vehicles to enter Parliament.
He elaborated, “In elementary principles, the Constitution says whoever is in violation of the Constitution is void. Meaning if anybody acts in a manner considered unconstitutional, regardless of the activation of a process by a party, citizen, or anyone, the action is intrinsically void.”
He emphasized that anyone can report such a case: “That is why in my opinion, everybody, technically has the right to report this. In fact, MPs can do that, the parties can, non-members of Parliament, ordinary Ghanaians can petition the Speaker of Parliament to ensure that such an anomaly is rectified if ever a thing like this happens,” Prof. Abotsi added.
His stance contrasts with that of former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye. Prof. Oquaye had raised concerns over a petition by former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, seeking to have four parliamentary seats declared vacant because their occupants opted to run as independent candidates in the upcoming general elections. According to Prof. Oquaye, it would be illegal to act on such a petition without a formal complaint from the affected political parties and a fair hearing for the MPs involved.
However, Prof. Abotsi countered this view, noting that Article 97 of the Constitution, which deals with disqualification from Parliament, does not explicitly require reporting. “The Constitution says that the person shall primarily take the step himself. The person becomes disqualified if he crosses carpet. So ordinarily, the reporting part is a secondary thing. If the person doesn’t take steps to report himself, then, we have a secondary step.”
While he acknowledged Prof. Oquaye’s argument, Prof. Abotsi also highlighted a potential conflict of interest for political parties: “We should also not forget the fact that political party may have an incentive not to report a thing like this.”
The current Speaker of Parliament is expected to rule on the petition filed by the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC), which concerns MPs Peter Kwakyi Ackah of Amenfi Central, Cynthia Morrison of Agona West, Kwadjo Asante of Suhum, and Andrew Asiamah.
