Parliament Majority Brouhaha: I’ll be surprised if Speaker doesn’t obey Supreme Court - Blay

Freddie Blay, a former national chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has added his voice to the ongoing brouhaha in the Parliament and the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview on Citi News on October 21, 2024, he stated that he would be surprised should the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumani Bagbin, forgo the recent Supreme Court ruling on his declaration of four seats.

He explained that he expects Parliament, the law-making body, to respect the decision of the Supreme Court.

“I will be extremely surprised if the Speaker does not obey the Supreme Court decision because it is the Supreme Court that interprets laws, and its ruling is as simple as any other thing.

“There is a separation of powers, but the three organs of government all have a role to play, and the role of interpretation is purely the role of the Supreme Court, and so the House has to obey its decision.”

“I will be surprised, and I don’t think he [Speaker Bagbin] will defy the Supreme Court’s ruling because he is a lawyer and understands the law, and he must abide by the ruling,” citinewsroom.com quoted him as saying.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are battling over who will become the majority in Parliament because the Speaker’s declaration of the four seats vacant will give the NDC an automatic majority status should the decision stand.

Meanwhile, the Legal Department of Parliament has been served with a true copy of the order of the Supreme Court freezing Speaker Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four seats in the House vacant.

The serving was reportedly done on Monday, October 21, 2024, by court officials.

The Supreme Court of Ghana on October 18, 2024, stayed the ruling of Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, in the matter of the vacation of some four seats.

This was after the highest court of the land, led by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, heard an application by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

The decision by the apex court effectively suspends the implementation of the Speaker’s ruling on October 17, 2024, pending further legal review and final determination.

The court indicated that the decision of the Speaker was depriving the four constituencies of representation in Parliament.

It also indicated that Bagbin’s decision would likely lead to the alleged thwarting of government business in Parliament and plunge the due management of the affairs of the country into possible disruptions.

It added that the declaration by the Speaker raises real questions of constitutional interpretation and application of the most fundamental and democratic rights of Ghanaians, being the right to be represented and heard in Parliament through their elected representatives.

Bagbin had granted a motion by the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to declare some four seats vacant.

Delivering his ruling, the Speaker noted that the decision by the affected MPs to contest in the December 7, 2024, election as independent or on the ticket of a party different from the party on whose ticket they currently serve, contravened Article 97 (g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

He noted that the motive and operational effect of Article 97(g) and (h) was to cure the issues of cross-carpeting and defection as witnessed in parliaments of old.

He stated that the intent of Article 97 (g) (i) was to ensure party loyalty throughout the stay of an MP in Parliament.

He emphasized that the affected MPs, by their decision and the Notice of Polls issued by the Electoral Commission for the December 7, 2024, parliamentary elections, have vacated their seats.

The affected seats and their MPs included Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Andrew Amoako Asiamah (Fomena), and Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central).

AM/KA

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