After Court Ruling, Ghana’s Ruling Party Still in Majority Ahead of Election

An election in Ghana on December 7 could replace the current ruling party, which would be a relief to the ruling party as it almost lost power before the election. The Speaker of the Parliament, Alban Bagbin, declared four seats vacant after sitting members running for office announced party shifts. The move would have put the ruling party in the minority, but the country’s Supreme Court shot it down.

Ghana’s Supreme Court restores ruling party’s parliamentary majority ahead of Dec. 7 election – ABC News
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ACCRA, Ghana — Ghana’s Supreme Court restored the ruling party’s majority in the parliament on Tuesday ahead of the Dec. 7 election, with an order that the speaker’s declaration of four seats as vacant was unconstitutional.

Last month, two members of parliament from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and one from the biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) announced that they would run as independent candidates in the election, while an independent candidate joined the NPP.

The Speaker of the Parliament Alban Bagbin declared their seats vacant, arguing that the constitution does not allow MPs to defect. The parliament was indefinitely adjourned after the declaration.

Bagbin’s decision had shifted the parliamentary majority to the NDC, giving it one seat more than the outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo’s NPP’s 135.

The Supreme Court’s ruling restores the ruling NPPs slim majority of 138 seats, including one independent who leans towards the NPP, against 137 for the opposition NDC.