Speaker of Parliament Prof. Mike Ocquaye has said there will be no by-election in the Mfantseman constituency despite the death of the MP, Ekow Quansah Hayford.

Addressing the House on Wednesday, first Deputy Speaker Joe Osei Owusu explained that the constitution is categorical that if an MP vacates his or her seat less than three months to the next election, a new one is not elected.

“Any vacancy that occurs after September 7, would not trigger a by-election and I think that is important that all the discussions recognise this position henceforth,” he said.

He further noted that the Parliament will notify the Electoral Commission since the filing of nomination had closed when the MP was killed.

The Speaker added that it is to prevent the EC from putting the deceased as the parliamentary candidate for 2020.

“This is a critical role the House ought to do and I believe strongly that the clerk has done his work.”

He added, "The rest is for us to ensure that the party’s whose candidate has suffered this demise take the appropriate legal steps to ensure that a replacement is found for the decease.”

The Speaker on his part cautioned the media and parliamentarians to be cognisance of the legal requirement of the situation in order not to peddle falsehood.

Already the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has settled on Ophelia Hayford to succeed her murdered husband Ekow Quansah Hayford as the parliamentary candidate for the Mfantseman Constituency.

According to sources, the party sent a letter to the Electoral Commission on Monday to invoke portions of CI 127 to allow a 10-day extension of the nomination period within which it would file for her to contest for the Mfantseman seat.

The provision states, “Where at the close of the nomination, but before the election one of the candidate dies, a further period of 10 days shall be allowed for nominations.”