Prof Henry Kwasi Prempeh is the Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee
The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has suggested that the constitutional requirement for by-elections to fill vacancies in the country’s Parliament should be re-examined.
In a post shared on Facebook on July 13, 2025, Professor Kwasi Prempeh, who is also the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), said that political parties whose seats are declared vacant should be given the chance to fill the seat first.
He indicated that this opportunity should be given to parties if the vacancies are created within the first year of the commencement of a new Parliament.
“What if, instead of a by-election, the party that held the seat was given a right to elect a replacement whenever a vacancy occurs within 12 months of the last election?” Professor Prempeh wrote.
His comments come following the death of the Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Ernest Yaw Kumi, which implies that the Akwatia seat will soon be declared vacant by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
After the declaration of the Akwatia seat as vacant, the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is expected to announce a by-election, in accordance with the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
The suggestion by Professor Prempeh, who is leading the ongoing process to review Ghana’s constitution, may imply that a number of the country’s laws, including Article 112 of the 1992 Constitution, must be amended.
Article 112(5) outlines the process for filling vacancies that arise in Parliament.
“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,” it reads.
Article 112(5) adds, “Notwithstanding clause (5) of this article, a by-election shall not be held within three months before the holding of a general election.”
See his post below:
BAI/AE
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