The governing New Patriotic Party has written to the Speaker of Parliament informing him that the Member of Parliament for Fomena in the Ashanti Region, Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah is no longer a member of the party.
This is because Mr. Amoako Asiamah who was defeated in the party’s parliamentary primaries earlier in the year is contesting the upcoming elections as an independent candidate contrary to the NPP’s constitution.
General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu in a statement said the NPP is demanding that the necessary parliamentary action should be taken against the MP.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Article 97(1)(g) of the Constitution states that: ‘A member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament if he leaves the party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament to join another party or seeks to remain in Parliament as an independent member’. The Party has therefore taken the necessary steps to inform the Speaker of Parliament of the above circumstances, for appropriate action to be taken,” John Boadu noted in the statement.
You’ve forfeited your party membership – NPP to independent candidates
Mr. Boadu also used the opportunity to announce that NPP members who decided to file nomination forms as independent parliamentary candidates have automatically forfeited their membership of the party.
This is in line with Article 3(9) of the NPP constitution, according to the statement from the party.
“The New Patriotic Party wishes to serve notice to the few members of the party who decided to file as independent parliamentary candidates that they have automatically forfeited their membership of the party from the very day they filed with the Electoral Commission (EC) to contest pursuant to Article 3(9) of the NPP constitution.”
John Boadu in the statement further noted that “Equally, by this constitutional injunction, any member of the party who supports or campaigns for an independent parliamentary candidate ahead of the forthcoming general elections also automatically forfeits his/her membership of the NPP”.
The NPP had put in place a national reconciliation committee to engage aggrieved candidates going independent.
President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia had been urging party supporters not to back members going independent.
