MPs-elect whose results were quashed are not eligible to be sworn in – Bagbin

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has stated that parliamentary candidates whose results were annulled by the Supreme Court on Friday, December 27, 2024, are ineligible to be sworn in as Members of Parliament on January 6, 2025.

The Supreme Court nullified the re-collated results for the Okaikwei Central, Ablekuma North, Tema Central, and Techiman South constituencies, citing irregularities in the process.

This ruling followed a legal challenge by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) against a High Court decision from December 20, which directed the Electoral Commission (EC) to re-collate parliamentary election results in nine disputed constituencies.

The NDC strongly opposed the High Court’s directive, arguing that the re-collation process was unlawful and lacked merit. The party contended that the court had exceeded its jurisdiction, undermining the transparency and credibility of the electoral process.

Speaking in parliament in Accra on Saturday, Bagbin said the Supreme Court supported his position on the matter as the declaration of the so-called MPs-elect 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. So I was very clear in my mind that some of those re-collation and re-declarations were completely null and void.

“They were unknown to the law and so they were not properly so-called MPs-elect and not qualified to be sworn in by me. 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.”