Parliament will not declare the Asante Akyem North seat vacant because its MP, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, has not been convicted of an offence, Majority Leader James Agalga has said.
Mr Frimpong has been detained in the Netherlands since May as he contests a United States request for his extradition. Two applications for bail have been rejected, with his extradition hearing scheduled for Wednesday, November 18.
“No, we can’t do that. He’s not been convicted,” Mr Agalga told JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, November 4.
“If you declare the seat vacant and the courts clear him, what happens?” he said.
The Majority Leader said removing Mr Frimpong before the conclusion of the case would violate his constitutional rights.
“His right to innocence, the presumption of innocence, is well enshrined in our constitution,” he said.
He added that MPs across Parliament agreed that the presumption of innocence must be respected.
“He’s innocent until proven guilty. Then there’s unanimity in Parliament that we must respect that principle.”
Mr Agalga said he had received an official briefing but did not know the details of the allegations. He intends to visit Mr Frimpong in detention when parliamentary duties become less demanding.
“I do not know the actual details. In fact, when the pressures of work ease a bit, I intend to pay him a visit,” he said.
No date has been fixed for the visit. Parliament resumed on Tuesday for a busy sitting, with the 2027 Budget due to be presented on November 12.
“We pray for our colleague that the applications that are currently before the court would come out favourably for him,” Mr Agalga added.
When can a parliamentary seat become vacant?
Article 97(1) of the 1992 Constitution states that an MP must vacate their seat if Parliament is dissolved, they are elected Speaker, resign in writing, leave the party on whose ticket they were elected to join another party or sit as an independent, or if an independent MP joins a political party.
A seat may also be lost if an MP misses 15 sittings without the Speaker’s written permission and cannot provide the Privileges Committee with a reasonable explanation; is expelled after being found guilty of contempt of Parliament; or becomes disqualified under Article 94.
Arrest, detention and extradition proceedings are not listed as grounds for removal. Article 94’s criminal provisions require a conviction or a sentence imposed by a court, including convictions for fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude, offences carrying at least ten years, or a court-imposed death or prison sentence.
Any dispute over whether a seat is vacant is determined by the High Court under Article 99. If a vacancy arises, Article 112 requires the Clerk to notify the Electoral Commission within seven days and, in most cases, a by-election to be held within 30 days.
Detention in the Netherlands
Mr Frimpong was detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Sunday, May 10, after arriving from Ghana. Dutch authorities were acting on a US extradition request concerning alleged romance scams and money laundering.
Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor said in May that Mr Frimpong denied wrongdoing.
“I asked him whether he had done anything to warrant the FBI’s attention, and he said No,” Mr Dafeamekpor told 3FM’s Sunrise.
He later said on TV3’s The KeyPoints that the MP’s lawyer had seen an arrest warrant issued on April 26, but that it did not explain the reason for the arrest.
Parliament confirmed the detention on May 12 through Clerk Ebenezer Djietror. The Speaker and parliamentary leadership contacted Ghana’s embassy in The Hague.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Ghana was providing consular assistance and that Mr Frimpong had been visited in detention.
Mr Dafeamekpor said in September that both bail applications, including an appeal, had been rejected. On Tuesday, he said Mr Frimpong remained in custody in Amsterdam and had not been transferred to the United States.
Mr Frimpong, an entrepreneur, won Asante Akyem North as an independent candidate in the December 2024 election, defeating sitting MP Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi. Until a court convicts him, Mr Agalga maintains that he remains the constituency’s MP.
