(Bloomberg) -- Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party has lost its majority in parliament after some members moved to alter their status, dwindling its numbers in the already hung chamber.
The government of President Nana Akufo-Addo now holds 135 seats, down from 137, and also lost one NPP-leaning independent member following the defections ahead of the Dec. 7 elections. The opposition National Democratic Congress party, which also lost one member, now has one-seat majority at 136 members.
Speaker Alban Bagbin declared the seats vacant after he was informed by the opposition that two NPP members defected to become independent candidates for the upcoming vote. An NPP-leaning independent member also moved to file candidacy as an NPP candidate while a member of the NDC also defected to stand as an independent candidate.
“By the notification of the polls, the following members of parliament have by their actions, vacated their seats in parliament,” Bagbin said during proceedings on Thursday.
This is the first time in the fourth republic, which started in 1992, that an opposition party gained majority in parliament. Ghana’s 275-seat chamber was also the first to have members shared equally between the ruling party and the opposition party, following the 2020 polls.
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.”
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia will face off with former President and flagbearer of the NDC John Dramani Mahama in this year’s elections. Akufo-Addo is stepping down after his second and final four-year term.
“Beginning the next parliamentary sitting we will begin the process to take over as the majority caucus of this parliament,” Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson said.
(Updates with additional comment from Speaker in fourth paragraph.)
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