The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, has declared that Parliamentary candidates whose results were annulled by the Supreme Court on Friday, December 27, 2024, cannot be sworn in as Members of Parliament (MPs) on January 6, 2025.
This decision followed the Supreme Court’s nullification of the re-collated results for the Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South constituencies due to irregularities in the process.
Mr Bagbin revealed on Saturday when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Professionals Forum (ProForum) honored him with a citation in recognition of his outstanding contributions to democracy, governance, and development in Ghana.
ProFroum, is an activist group of the NDC.
The NDC had challenged the High Court’s decision directing the Electoral Commission to re-collate Parliamentary election results in nine disputed constituencies. The NDC argued that the re-collation process was unlawful and lacked merit, contending that the court had exceeded its jurisdiction.
In his remarks, Speaker Bagbin emphasised that the Supreme Court’s ruling supported his position, stating that the declaration of the affected MPs-elect was unlawful.
He clarified that to become an MP, one must be elected by the voter, declared by the Electoral Commission, and sworn in by the Speaker.
“…Until sworn in, they remain MPs-elect. some re-collation and re-declarations were null and void, unknown to the law, and therefore not qualified to be sworn in by me,” he said.
He reiterated his commitment to upholding the law, saying, “I’m the gatekeeper. The right thing must be done for us to be able to reset Ghana,” he said.
GNA