The former minority leader and the MP for the Tamale South Constituency, Haruna Iddrisu, has stated that the 4th Republican Parliament will undergo a constitutional test that will result in the NDC Minority becoming the Majority in Parliament.
He has assured that they plan to invoke Article 97 of the speaker’s orders of the constitution during the next parliamentary session on Tuesday, which would effectively shift their status from minority to Majority in Parliament.
The lawmakers have highlighted that the four Members of Parliament who submitted their nominations to contest the 2024 election as independent candidates would not have constitutional recognition.
Speaking at a campaign launch in the Tamale North constituency for the member of parliament for the area, Alhaji Alhassan Suhuyini, who is seeking a third term to represent the people in parliament for the constituency, Haruna Iddrisu emphasized, “The parliament of Ghana will reconvene, and when it reconvenes, I am very certain that the parliament of Ghana will go through a major constitutional test. That constitutional test is that NDC minority must become the majority.”
Furthermore, Haruna Iddrisu explained that the interpretation of Article 97 of the Constitution cannot be misinterpreted, and he is confident of a majority group in parliament on Wednesday.
“If a member of parliament on a political party ticket like NPP decides to file as an independent candidate, that member ceases to become a member of parliament. If an independent member of parliament, by provision of Article 97, sub-clause G, decides to join a political party, he also loses constitutional recognition and does not belong to parliament. And even if an NDC candidate, MP, decides to become an independent, he ceases to be a member of parliament.”
Assuring NDC supporters, the former minority leader Haruna Iddrisu stated that the party would be the majority in parliament on Wednesday since they will invoke Article 97 of the constitution and standing orders, and the speaker of parliament would be called upon to declare those seats vacant for individual parliamentarians who filed to contest as independent candidates in their respective constituencies.
“Therefore, we will invoke the speaker’s true interpretation of Article 97 by our standing orders, which must be that three NPP MPs don’t qualify to be members of parliament. One NDC MP does not also qualify to be a member of parliament. Therefore, the speaker would be called upon on Tuesday to declare four parliamentary seats vacant and declare them as lacking constitutional recognition,” he reiterated in his address.
Haruna Iddrisu called on NDC supporters to have confidence in the current MPs in parliament to defend their interests. He urged supporters of the party in the Tamale North constituency to vote massively for Alhassan Suhuyini to retain the seat with an 80% vote against the NPP.
Other speakers like Sam George called on supporters in the North to take the promises of John Mahama seriously, stating that he is a leader who can be trusted. “His four years as a president are a testament that we can trust him, and he has delivered most of his promises. He loves the country, and he will deliver, unlike the wicked NPP government who allegedly stole Ghana’s money and kept it in their homes,” he alleged during the rally.
