The Supreme Court has sided with an appeal filed by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, overturning Speaker of the House Alban Bagbin’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant.
The seven-member panel, presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, ruled in favour of Afenyo-Markin by a majority vote of 5-2 on Tuesday. A further explanation of the decision would be given later, Chief Justice Torkornoo stated.
The argument centres on Speaker Bagbin’s interpretation of Ghanaian Constitutional Article 97(1)(g), which he used as justification for declaring the seats empty. Legal and political opposition to the measure was raised by Afenyo-Markin, who claimed that Bagbin had overreached himself by avoiding judicial review and ruling out the possibility of by-elections in the impacted constituencies.
Speaker Bagbin filed a counter-application, alleging that parliamentary decisions are outside the judiciary’s jurisdiction because they deal with non-judicial matters, in response to the Supreme Court’s earlier interim order to stop the Speaker’s ruling from being implemented.
Thaddeus Sory, Bagbin’s lawyer, said that the separation of powers principle of the constitution is violated when judges get involved in parliamentary matters.
Chief Justice Torkornoo, however, denied Bagbin’s application, upholding the Court’s jurisdiction to step in where parliamentary activities are thought to be in violation of the constitution.
In light of the general elections scheduled for December 7, she voiced worry about the possible disenfranchisement of constituents who would lose their parliamentary seat in the absence of by-elections.
Source: Citinewsroom