You have forfeited your membership; NPP to independent PCs

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has served notice to its members who have filed their nominations to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections as independent parliamentary that they have automatically forfeited their membership of the party, right from the very day they filed with the Electoral Commission (EC).

The decision is in pursuant to Article 3(9) of the NPP Constitution.

“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 party said in a statement signed by its General Secretary, John Boadu.

Fomena MP

The party made particular mention of the Member of Parliament for the Fomena constituency, in the Ashanti Region, Amoako Andrew Asiamah, who was elected to Parliament on the ticket of the NPP, but has filed to contest as an independent parliamentary candidate.

According to the NPP, the decision made by the Fomena MP shows he “has presumably vacated his seat in Parliament, pursuant to Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic.”

“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,” Mr Boadu said in the statement.

Speaker notified

Mr Boadu said the party has taken the necessary steps to inform the Speaker of Parliament of the MP’s decision for appropriate action to be taken.

The statement commended some members of the party who had contemplated to go Independent but reconsidered their decision in deference to the supreme interest of the party, adding that their display of loyalty and patriotism can never go unnoticed.

“In particular, the party salutes Mercy Adu-Gyamfi, popularly known as Ama Sey, the MP for Akwatia constituency, for paying heed to wise counsel and deciding not to file as Independent Candidate but to rather support the Party’s 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for the Akwatia Constituency, Mr Ernest Yaw Kumi, to retain the Akwatia Seat for the NPP,” he said.

“Finally, the Party congratulates all the 275 Parliamentary Candidates of the Party who successfully filed their nominations with the Electoral Commission to contest in the 2020 Parliamentary Elections and wishes them the best success in the elections. The NPP is undoubtedly on course to maintaining its overwhelming Majority Seats in the next Parliament Insha Allahu,” Mr Boadu said.