Minority boycotts swearing-in of new Ayawaso-Wuogon MP

• Posted on February 5, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

The Minority in Parliament Tuesday morning boycotted the swearing-in of newly elected Ayawaso West-Wuogon Member of Parliament, Lydia Seyram Alhassan.

Seyram Alhassan, wife of the late MP for the constituency Emmanuel Agyarko won the by-election by a landslide of 68.8%.

Her victory came after the major opposition party, the NDC pulled out of the election due to some violence that occurred at one of the polling stations in the constituency.

The NDC called on the Electoral Commission to annul the results saying it was conducted under questionable circumstances “including the warlike environment.”

The Minority clad in red and black in protest of the by-election violence and lack of action from police also used the occasion to challenge the legitimacy of new MP and decided not to be part of the swearing-in ceremony.

Speaking before the walkout, Minority Chief Whip and MP for Asawase Muntaka Mubarak explained that the move is in protest of brutalities meted out to some NDC supporters during the by-election last week where over 18 people sustained gunshot wounds from some purported National Security Operatives.

Muntaka also decried the inaction from the Police over the matter.

The First deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei-Owusu nonetheless led madam Lydia Alhassan to take the oath of office. The Bekwai MP afterwards also took a dig at the minority over the move arguing a bad precedent has been set.