Adomako Kissi urges constitutional reform to end by-elections

Former Member of Parliament for Anyaa-Sowutuom, Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi, has urged constitutional reform to allow political parties to retain parliamentary seats for the full four-year term when a vacancy occurs, instead of holding by-elections.

According to Dr. Kissi, such a provision would significantly reduce tensions, violence, and security concerns that often accompany by-elections in Ghana. He argued that it would also save the state substantial costs associated with organising mid-term polls.

“I support the idea where the seat is left for the party for the four years so that these hotly contested things based on the current behavior of Ghanaians will be stopped,” Dr. Kissi said in an interview on Channel One TV on Tuesday, August 2025.

Highlighting security risks, he added: “Because of our Ghanaian nature, and looking at the security issues and the deaths that occur during by-elections, including the near-death of a former Minister of State at Ablekuma North, I think it is worth considering.”

Dr. Kissi clarified that his proposal is not aimed at denying constituents their voting rights but rather at safeguarding lives and ensuring stability in affected constituencies. He maintained that once a party secures a seat in a general election, any mid-term vacancy due to death or other circumstances should be filled by the same party until the next general election.

“If we want fewer incidents at by-elections, then there should be no by-election. There should be a bill that, once you win the election and circumstances happen, the party should just take over for the four years. I think that convention should hold, and it will make sense largely because of the behaviour of the two parties over time,” he noted.

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His remarks come in the wake of two recent parliamentary vacancies: the death of Akwatia MP Ernest Yaw Kumi on July 7, 2025, and the passing of Tamale Central MP Dr. Murtala Mohammed, who died in a military helicopter crash on August 6, 2025.