Kwaku Azar slams Minority’s boycott of Chief Justice's vetting

Private legal practitioner Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare has criticised the members of the Minority in Parliament who sit on the Appointments Committee of Parliament for boycotting the vetting process of the Chief Justice nominee, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.

The Minority, led by Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, who is also the Ranking Member of the Committee, said that they could not accept the nominee due to ongoing legal issues and, therefore, rejected him.

'I will be surprised if you still don't understand the rules after all these years' - Ayariga to Afenyo Markin

Reacting to the group’s actions, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, argued that boycotts, which he believes are a powerful tool, can be used purposefully to achieve specific goals.

However, he stated that this particular boycott was unnecessary, as it did not achieve anything.

“Yesterday, the Minority boycotted the vetting of the CJ nominee. Boycotts, of course, can be powerful instruments of protest. They can awaken consciences, galvanize the public, and expose injustice. Consider the Accra Boycott of 1948, organized by Nii Kwabena Bonne II to protest rising prices and to compel merchants to reduce prices. That was a boycott with purpose — one that combined public participation, moral clarity, and strategic pressure.

“But not all boycotts meet those standards. Some drain energy without yielding results, especially when they are used against functioning democratic processes that depend on participation, not withdrawal. The Minority caucus’s boycott of the CJ’s vetting falls into that latter category. It neither altered the outcome nor advanced the cause of accountability,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.

Describing the boycott as “not useful”, Kwaku Azar cited several reasons, including what he described as the group giving up their power to ask questions.

He explained that a single question from the Minority group could have revealed more than any press release.

“… The Minority Forfeited the Power of the Question: A single pointed question can reveal more than a week of press statements. By boycotting, the Minority surrendered that power and the chance to frame the moral and legal debate,” he added.

Bernard Ahiafor’s cryptic post that sparked debate after chaotic CJ vetting

Azar added that boycotts are justified when they are used to protest injustice or oppression, but “when used to escape engagement in a legitimate constitutional process, they serve only as symbolic sulks.”

Read his full post below:

MAG/AE

CJ Vetting: 'I will not allow you to breach an inch of the rules' – Ayariga tells Afenyo Markin