The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has removed incumbent legislator for Fomena, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, from the party for going independent.
“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 Party, has filed to contest as an Independent Parliamentary Candidate,” NPP General Secretary, John Boadu said in a statement.
“By so doing, he has presumably vacated his seat in Parliament pursuant to Article 97(1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic”.
The Electoral Commission (EC) closed nominations on Friday, October 9, with a number of aspirants opting to contest the 2020 elections as independent candidates following their defeat at party primaries.
Mr. Boadu noted in the release dated September 13, that Article 97(1)(g) of the NPP 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.”
Subsequently, the NPP has “taken the necessary steps to inform the Speaker of Parliament of the above circumstances, for appropriate action to be taken”.
Furthermore, the party has also served notice to all members 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”.
By extension, the Busia-Danquah-Dombo party indicated that any member who supports or campaigns for an independent parliamentary candidate ahead of the 2020 general elections “automatically forfeits his or her membership of the NPP”
The party commended members who rescinded their decisions from breaking away from the party adding that “such display of loyalty and patriotism to the can never go unnoticed, and the party duly acknowledges same”.
The party singled out Mercy Adu-Gyamfi, popularly known as Ama Sey, the MP for Akwatia Constituency for paying heed to counsel and deciding not to file as an independent candidate but to rather support the NPP 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for the Akwatia Constituency, Mr. Ernest Yaw Kumi, to retain the Akwatia seat for the party.
