A little wisdom and maturity is required from you - Lawyer Kwasi Kwarteng scolds Bagbin

Kwasi Kwarteng Frimpong, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, has criticised the Speaker and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament for their behaviour towards the Supreme Court following the quashing of the Speaker's declaration of four seats as vacant.

The Supreme Court, by a 5-2 majority decision, ruled that the Speaker's order was unconstitutional. Consequently, he is expected to reconvene Parliament, which is currently on indefinite suspension, and ensure the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus retains its position as the Majority.

"In a majority decision of five to two, with Lovelace Johnson JSC and Ahmadu Tanko JSC dissenting on the issue of jurisdiction, the plaintiff's action succeeds. The full reasons and orders of the court shall be filed with the registrar by the close of day tomorrow, November 13, 2024. This is the judgment of the court," stated Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.

However, a member of the Minority Caucus, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, says they will not return to Parliament until after the December 7 elections.

"They should not waste the taxpayers' money by asking us to come to Parliament in the next three weeks. We are not coming. We are concerned about elections, and we shall only come to Parliament after the elections. That should be at the back of their minds," he said.

Reacting to the Minority's behaviour, Lawyer Kwasi Kwarteng noted that the Constitution of Ghana binds the Speaker and the MPs to heed the ruling of the Apex Court, hence condemning their obstinate posture towards the court.

"It will be the most dangerous precedent ever to have been set in this country that not an individual, not any other institution but the Parliament of Ghana, supervised and superintended by the Speaker of Parliament, has refused to heed a Supreme Court ruling," he said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show.

He stated that the Speaker's disobedience to the court would send a bad signal to Ghanaians. If Parliament won't obey the court, he asked, "Why would an individual who breaches traffic regulations and is sent to court heed the court ruling?"

He admonished the Speaker to show maturity and leadership to restore calm in Parliament.

"At this stage, beyond the legalities of it, a little bit of wisdom, a little bit of maturity, a little bit of leadership is required from all sides, but most importantly, the first person to bear this responsibility has to be the Speaker of Parliament."