President for IMANI Africa has stated that the Fomena Member of Parliament (MP), Andrews Amoako Asiamah, lost the opportunity to be a kingmaker in Ghana’s 8th Parliament.
Franklin Cudjoe said the MP took a hasty decision by declaring to side with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in parliament following his win in the 2020 parliamentary race as an independent candidate.
“I would have thought the independent candidate would allow his own conscience to guide him and actually would be the kingmaker but he’s lost an opportunity to become a kingmaker in an important parliament like this,” Mr Cudjoe said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show.
His comments come after the Fomena MP-elect stated that he was going to sit with the NPP in parliament after he won the elections.
It will be recalled that Mr Asiamah was dismissed as a member of the ruling party following his decision to break away ahead of the just-ended polls.
RELATED:
He was subsequently dismissed from parliament by Speaker Aaron Mike Ocquaye.
This was in line with Article 97 (1)(g) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which indicates that a Member of Parliament shall vacate his seat “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”.
However, the NPP lost the majority of its seats to the opposition party NDC during the December polls, a situation which some experts say may lead to a hung parliament where no party has enough seats to secure an overall majority.
This also led to the question of whether Mr Asiamah was going to maintain his status as an independent candidate or join the NPP to form a majority in parliament.
Speaking to JoyNews, Mr Asiamah maintained his unfeigned allegiance to the NPP despite his expulsion from the party after he decided to run as an independent candidate in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
However, Franklin Cudjoe in his reaction to Mr Asiamah’s decision stated that he should have maintained his status as an independent candidate to serve as a lesson to the party.
“At least he should have stretched the party small for the things they made him go through with two or three important deals he abstained or the unlikely event, he side with the other party just to make sure that his candidature is worth being appreciated but anyway he chose the other way.
“I’m sure he’s been approached by the party to say ‘look, you now hold the casting votes in most cases, [so] what do you want?’ And I think he has a laundry list of items he would love his constituents to benefit but he’s indicated that he’s going to be on the side of the majority.
“I thought it was too quick to do that, he should have kept his cards close to his chest but maybe he’s just being political and being a realist in Ghana’s political environment,” Mr Cudjoe added.
