Bagbin: Swearing in MPs-elect from EC’s re-collation would have been illegal

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has deemed the declaration of certain parliamentary candidates as winners through the Electoral Commission’s re-collation exercise in their constituencies as unlawful.

Speaking at an honorary event in Parliament on Saturday, December 28, Bagbin argued that the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the re-collation exercise spared him from the difficult position of swearing in candidates whose victories were improperly declared.

On Friday, December 27, the Supreme Court in Accra annulled the re-collated parliamentary election results for Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South, reversing the EC’s declarations for these constituencies. The decision was delivered amidst ongoing legal and political disputes over the validity of the re-collation process.

However, the court upheld the re-collated results for Nsawam Adoagyiri and Ahafo Ano North, affirming their legitimacy and leaving them unaffected by the ruling.

Bagbin emphasized that candidates declared winners through the annulled re-collation exercise were not eligible to be sworn in, reiterating the Supreme Court’s stance that the process was unlawful.

“The decision of the Supreme Court just followed the position I took before they even delivered their decision. To become a member of parliament, you have to be elected by the voter, and you have to be declared by the electoral commission. But you have to be sworn in by the speaker. Until you are sworn in by the speaker, you remain MP-elect,” Bagbin stated.

He further clarified that some of the re-collation and redeclaration exercises were “completely null and void” and “unknown to the law,” rendering those declared as MPs-elect unqualified to be sworn in by him.

“My clerk is here. We had those discussions when I told them. They were all surprised. I said, yes. I’m the gatekeeper. The right thing must be done for us to be able to reset Ghana,” Bagbin added.

The parliamentary results of nine constituencies, including Okaikwei Central, Tema Central, and Dome Kwabenya, have been central to legal disputes following the 2024 General Election.

Bagbin’s firm stance underscores the importance of adhering to constitutional provisions and ensuring the legitimacy of parliamentary representation.

Source: channel1news