SC delivers ruling on 4 vacant seats case today
The Supreme Court (SC) will today deliver ruling on the case of four vacant seats filed by Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Leader of the New Patriotic (NPP) caucus in Parliament.
Yesterday, a five-member panel of judges presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkonoo, listened to arguments from counsel for the plaintiff and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame.
The other members of the panel were Justices Mariama Owusu, S.K.A. Asiedu, E.Y. Gaewu and Y. Darko Asare.
The court had earlier overturned the decision of the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana
Kingsford Bagbin, on October 15, declaring three NPP and one National Democratic Congress (NDC) seat vacant.
Today, the court will in its ruling interpret Article 97(g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution, which is the subject of controversy between the NPP and the NDC in Parliament.
During proceedings yesterday, Mr Dame expressed disquiet about the absence of the counsel for the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thaddeus Sory.
The MPs, whose seats were declared vacant, were Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah, NDC MP for Amenfi Central, Andrew Amoako Asiama, independent MP for Fomena Constituency, Kwadwo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum Constituency, and Cynthia Mamle Morrison, NPP MP for Agona West Constituency.
On October 18, the plaintiff’s counsel, Mr Papa Kwesi Abaidoo, who was led by Joe Ghartey, told the court the Speaker of Parliament was served with the court processes and that his (Bagbin’s) action amounted to usurping the exclusive and original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
He contended that his client filed the ex-parte application because of the likely mischief that could be a halt to the business of Parliament, especially committees, chaired by the current majority members.
Mr Abaidoo told the court that there was the likelihood of the current minority members doing everything in their power to halt the business of government “in these dying minutes of the period to the 2024 elections.”
He said the ruling of the Speaker amounted to denial of the constitutional rights of the four constituencies to be lawfully represented in Parliament.
Mr Abaidoo further stated that the intentions of the four MPs pursuant to Article 97 (1) (h), (g) were meant for the 9th Parliament of Ghana coming in a different identity, and that it did not amount to crossing carpet in the current Parliament.
“We can face mayhem if the preruling status-quo is not maintained,” he added.
Having heard the arguments from Mr Abaidoo, the court ordered Parliament to allow the four MPs to conduct their parliamentary duties until the substantive matter was determined.
Justice Torkornoo noted that “In view of the gravity of the issues raised in this instant suit and the urgency of this matter, this Court hereby directs that pursuant to Article 129 (4) of the 1992 Constitution and Rule 5 of Cl 16, the Defendants – Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General – are to file their statements of case within seven days of service of this ruling.”
The court ordered the parties to file their joint memorandum of issues within seven days of filing of their statement of case for the due hearing of the suit.
Mr Bagbin officially declared four parliamentary seats vacant last Thursday, saying “accordingly, I will proceed to inform the house that by the notification of the polls, the following MPs have, by their actions, vacated their seats in parliament.”
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
