The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has noted that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution does not support a by-election within three months to the general elections to fill the Mfantseman Constituency vacancy created by the death of the Member of Parliament (MP) of the area, Ekow Quansah Hayford.
His comments come at the back of a vacant seat in Parliament created as a result of the murder of Ekow Quansah Hayford.
The MP was shot dead by armed men on the Abeadze-Dominase–Abeadze Duadzi – Mankessim road in the Central Region while returning from a campaign trip in the constituency after filing his nominations to be re-elected in the next parliamentary polls.
The gruesome death has attracted wide condemnation amidst suggestions in certain circles for a by-election to fill the vacant seat.
However, Mr. Iddrisu, addressing a news conference in Parliament House, Accra, quoted article 112 clauses 5 and 6 of the 1992 Constitution to support the position that, there is no need for a by-election.
Article 112 clauses 5 and 6 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states:
(5) Whenever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the Clerk to Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days after the vacancy occurred, and a by-election shall be held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred.
(6) Notwithstanding clause (5) of this article, a by-election shall not be held within three months before the holding of a general election.
Story: Edzorna Francis Mensah
