Following the arrest and detention of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akyem North, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, popularly known as OK Frimpong, in the Netherlands, there have been suggestions that there is going to be a by-election in the constituency.

Well, are these suggestions accurate? What are the conditions necessary for a by-election to happen in Asante Akyem North?

First of all, for a by-election to happen, the Speaker of Parliament, who is now Alban Bagbin, must declare the constituency's seat vacant.

What the 1992 Constitution says about vacancy in Parliament and by-elections:

The Constitution of Ghana clearly states the conditions under which a seat in Parliament can be declared vacant, and being detained or facing extradition proceedings is not one of them.

Article 97 of the Constitution, which touches on the tenure of MPs, lists resignation, death, and a member being found guilty of a crime as some of the reasons for the declaration of seats to be vacant.

Here are the exact words of Article 97:

A member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament—

(a) upon a dissolution of Parliament; or

(b) if he is elected as Speaker of Parliament; or

(c) if he is absent, without the permission in writing of the Speaker, and he is unable to offer a reasonable explanation to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges for fifteen sittings of a meeting of Parliament during any period that Parliament has been summoned to meet and continues to meet; or

(d) if he is expelled from Parliament after having been found guilty of contempt of Parliament by a committee of Parliament; or

(e) if any circumstances arise such that, if he were not a member of Parliament, they would cause him to be disqualified or ineligible for election under Article 94 of this Constitution; or

(f) if he resigns from office as a member of Parliament by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker; or

(g) 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; or

(h) if he was elected a member of Parliament as an independent candidate and joins a political party.

The Standing Orders of Parliament also state that it is only the Speaker of Parliament who can declare seats vacant under any of the conditions stated above.

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By-election:

Even after the Speaker has declared a seat vacant, there is still a process to follow for a by-election to be held.

The Clerk of Parliament is to notify the Electoral Commission of Ghana of the vacancy in Parliament, and the commission, within a stipulated period, is expected to hold the by-election.

Article 112 of the Constitution states that: “Whenever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days after becoming aware that the vacancy has occurred; and a by-election shall be held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred except that where the vacancy occurred through the death of a member, the by-election shall be held within sixty days after the occurrence of the vacancy”.

Timelines:

The Asante Akyem North legislator has currently been detained by law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands.

Multiple reports have confirmed that he was arrested because of an arrest warrant issued by the United States government, which is investigating him over some alleged financial crimes, including money laundering.

This means that authorities in the Netherlands must now decide whether he should be extradited to the United States or not.

The security authorities have to take OK Frimpong to court for a judge to determine whether there is a case for him to answer in the United States. Extradition hearings typically take several months, if not years, especially when they involve high-profile personalities such as politicians.

From Dan Abodakpi to Eric Amoateng: Ghanaian MPs who were jailed

Precedent:

This is not the first time a Ghanaian Member of Parliament has been accused of a crime in the United States. In 2007, Eric Amoateng, who was then the sitting Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North, was jailed in the United States, making him the first Ghanaian legislator to be jailed in a foreign prison.

He was accused of drug trafficking and charged with eight counts of importation, conspiracy to import, distribution and conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute heroin in America.

Eric Amoateng was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in federal prison by a US District Court in Brooklyn, New York, in December 2007. In addition to his 10-year prison sentence, he was given five years of supervised release.

Amoateng served his sentence at the Moshannon Valley Correctional Centre in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, and was released from US custody in July 2014 before returning to Ghana.

Even though Eric Amoateng was jailed in December 2007, he was arrested on November 12, 2005. This shows that his prosecution took over two years.

If this is anything to go by, it means that the people of Asante Akyem are likely to be without their MP for several months, if not years.

The Speaker of Parliament can also only declare the seat vacant if he is convicted.

BAI

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