The Speaker of parliament has been asked to declare 125 seats of Members of Parliament vacant because the occupants vacated their post.
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125 Members of Parliament to lose their seats
The figure represents 45.2%, or nearly half of all Members of Parliament who were absent for at least fifteen days or more between January 2013 and July 2014.
Parliament of Ghana
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This means the said members risk losing their seats for repeatedly absenting themselves beyond the limit that the Constitution allows.
This was contained in a letter dated December 2 2015, by Odekro, an advocacy platform that seeks to promote transparency, accountability and democratic governance through citizen action and engagement with relevant government agencies.
According to the group, the Constitution stipulates that if these 125 MPs are unable to provide “reasonable explanations” for their absence to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges, they must vacate their seats.
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Those on the list of the absentee MPs include ministers of state and deputies include MP for Dome-Kwabena Adwoa Safo, Papa Owusu Ankomah, MP for Sekondi, MP for North Tongu and Deputy Education Minister in charge of Tertiary, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, MP for Bekwai, Joseph Osei Wusu, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Tamale Central MP and Minister for Roads and Highways, Foreign Affairs Minister and Awutu Senya-West MP, Hannah Tetteh, Abuakwa South MP, Samuel Atta-Kyea and Mark Wayongo, Navrongo Central MP and Interior Minister among others.
The group said if nothing is heard from the Speaker of Parliament in 15-days, they will go to court to pray for an order to declare the seats vacant.
Odekro has indicated that its aim is to monitor the activities of parliament for the benefit of national development.
“Our goal is to harness technology in order to create a national platform for promoting transparency and popular participation by providing public online access to Bills, Motions, and Parliamentary debates (Hansards)," the group added.
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