Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea has said he considered the petition by former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu on four parliamentary seats as a joke.
This according to him is because the statement was made on a political platform.
In an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Mr Atta Akyea said the Tamale South MP was carried away by the euphoria of the political campaign.
“I thought it was a joke. I thought it was just a political talk because of the euphoria at where he made the statement. I didn’t think this venal statement would graduate into this controversy,” he stated.
The petition was seeking the declaration of the seats of four MPs vacant over their decision to cross carpets in the upcoming election.
The Tamale South MP invoked Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which stipulates that an MP must vacate their seat if they abandon the political party under which they were elected, or if they opt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin on Thursday ruled on the petition, declaring the seats vacant.
The declaration made the NDC the Majority while the NPP because Minority to their 136 and 135 seats respectively.
However, the Supreme Court on Friday suspended the Speaker’s declaration.
In a ruling on Friday, a five-member panel, presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, held that declaration goes against the rights of the affected MPs’ constituents.
It followed an ex parte application filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs led by Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader in Parliament.
By this decision, the vacant seats have been reinstated.
The decision of the Apex court has sparked diverse reactions amidst threats by the NDC not to abide by it, insisting it is now the Majority caucus.
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