The action of Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin in declaring four seats vacant amounts to usurping the powers of the Supreme Court, Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said.
He further argued that the Speaker’s actions contravene Article 99(1) of the Constitution, which vests the High Court with jurisdiction to determine questions of parliamentary membership validity.
Afenyo-Markin earlier filed a suit at the Supreme Court against declaring the four seats vacant. He accused the Speaker of avoiding the service of the suit.
“We have just witnessed a conspiracy between the speaker and the Minorty to bring confusion in the house, it is clear that Mr. Speaker avoided service of the writ to do the bidding of the NDC. We as the Majority Caucus immediately are boycotting parliament until this matter is determined by the Supreme Court, the speaker has no right to interpret the constitution,” he told journalists in Parliament on Thursday, October 17.
In a subsequent statement, he stated that “The Speaker’s actions constitute a clear usurpation of powers vested in the Supreme Court of Ghana under Articles 2(1) and 130 of the 1992 Constitution. These provisions explicitly empower the Supreme Court with the authority to interpret and enforce constitutional matters.
“Furthermore, the Speaker’s actions contravene Article 99(1) of the Constitution, which vests the High Court with jurisdiction to determine questions of parliamentary membership validity. By pre-emptively ruling on this issue, the Speaker has egregiously undermined the separation of powers that is fundamental to our democracy.”
They expressed concerns about the Speaker’s disregard for the ongoing judicial processes. “Disregard for Ongoing Judicial Processes: It is particularly troubling that the Speaker proceeded with this ruling despite being fully aware that the matter of the meaning and effect of Article 94(1)(g) was pending before the Supreme Court.
“The Majority Leader had filed a suit against the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General on October 15, 2024, seeking constitutional interpretation of the said provision, and formally notified the Speaker of this fact during the parliamentary session on October 16, 2024. Crucially, Parliament was officially served with the writ through its Legal Department on October 16, 2024, a day before the Speaker’s ruling.”
Speaker Alban Bagbin on Thursday, October 17 declared four seats in Parliament vacant.
The constituencies and the lawmakers are :
1. Cynthia Morrison, the current NPP MP for Agona West constituency in the Central Region, who has filed to run as an independent candidate.
2. Kwadwo Asante, the current NPP MP for the Suhum constituency in the Eastern Region, who has also filed to run as an independent candidate.
3. Andrew Asiamah Amoako, currently an independent MP for the Fomena constituency in the Ashanti Region, who has filed to run in the upcoming election as a candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu had petitioned the Speaker to declare the seats vacant by invoking Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution which stipulates that a lawmaker must vacate their seat if they leave the party under which they were elected or attempt to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.
Source:
3news.com
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