(Bloomberg) — Ghana’s opposition National Democratic Congress has gained majority status in parliament after the speaker declared the seats of four lawmakers vacant, following defections.
Speaker Alban Bagbin gave the ruling after he was informed by the opposition that two ruling New Patriotic Party members defected to become independent candidates for the upcoming Dec. 7 elections. An NPP-leaning independent member also moved to file candidacy as an NPP candidate. A member of the NDC also defected to stand as an independent candidate.
The ruling means the NPP has lost its majority, dropping to 135 seats in the 275-seat chamber while the opposition NDC takes over as the majority caucus with 136 seats.
According to the West African nation’s laws, a member 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; if he was elected a member of parliament as an independent candidate and joins a political party.”
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
