Any move to pack the Supreme Court will undermine Ghana’s democracy – NDC to Chief Justice

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the proposal by Chief Justice (CJ) Gertrude Torkornoo for the appointment of five new Supreme Court judges as an attempt to undermine the country's democracy.

The party claims that the move seeks to compromise the principle of checks and balances, which is crucial for a functioning democracy.

According to the party, President Akufo-Addo is only interested in appointing judges who are loyal to him for his parochial interests.

In a press conference addressed by the General Secretary at the party's Headquarters in Accra, Fifi Kwetey stated that the NDC is demanding a halt to the appointment of new judges to the apex court.

"Nowhere in the Constitution is the Chief Justice named as the one to recommend persons to the President for appointment to the Supreme Court. We wish to state without any equivocation that the Chief Justice's letter is illegal and of no effect. Her actions have completely turned due process on its head and compromised her independence as the head of the judiciary.

"We are concerned about a worrying pattern which irresistibly suggests that the President is appointing only loyalists of his party to these courts to have control of the judiciary and escape post-regime accountability.

"It is also very clear that the President is packing the courts ahead of the impending presidential and parliamentary elections with judges who are sympathetic to his party. Such deliberate politicization and bastardization of independent institutions of state, including the judiciary, can negatively impact the peace and stability of our democracy."