Vacant seats: Accept Supreme Court ruling – Alan tells Bagbin

Presidential Candidate of the Movement for Change, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has urged Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin to accept the Supreme Court’s verdict in the ongoing lawsuit regarding the status of four legislators.

This comes after the court dismissed Mr Bagbin’s application to overturn its ruling that suspended his declaration of four seats vacant.

The application filed by counsel for the Speaker, Thaddeus Sory, wanted a declaration that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to entertain a suit brought before it by the Majority Leader in Parliament and the MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

Additionally, the Speaker wanted the Supreme Court to set aside the order for a stay of execution on his verdict to remove four MPs for crossing carpets.

Commenting on the development, Mr Kyerematen commended the Speaker’s stance in vacating the seats, however, he suggested that his move to challenge the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction in legal interpretation was misguided.

He stressed that the apex court should maintain the principle of separation of powers, respecting Parliament’s autonomy in decisions made by the Speaker.

Mr Kyerematen further cautioned that prolonged disputes could have negative repercussions, especially with elections approaching, and called for a swift resolution.

“Bagbin must accept first the decision of the Supreme Court to grant an injunction that operates as a stay of execution of his initial order. He must accept the second decision of the Supreme Court to throw away their application.

“He must bring another application to the Supreme Court, requesting the Supreme Court to vary its earlier decision to grant an injunction in respect of the matter.

“And the basis for the application must be that on the face of the provisions of the Constitution, there is no issue arising in respect of interpretation. So it means that Afenyo-Markin’s application to the Supreme Court to injunct Parliament and to stay the execution of the ruling of the Speaker in itself is not proper.

“It is not proper because it does not need interpretation of a particular provision, then you cannot call upon the Supreme Court by force to make an interpretation.”

It is recalled that the Supreme Court on Friday, October 18, directed Parliament to recognise and allow the four MPs to continue to serve as lawmakers until a substantive case is determined. This was after the Speaker had, on Thursday, October 17, declared four seats in Parliament vacant.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed and threw out the application by the Speaker at the hearing on Wednesday, October 30.

Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, who chaired a panel of five justices, explained, among other things, that the Speaker was aware that the jurisdiction of the apex court had been invoked to interpret the constitutional provision on the matter. Still, Mr. Bagbin ignored it and went ahead to deliver a ruling on October 17.

Additionally, the Supreme Court indicated that declaring the seats vacant would deny hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians in the affected constituencies a voice in Parliament until January 7, 2025, when the next legislature commences.

Again, the apex court explained that the decision by the Speaker would cause substantive damage to the four MPs involved as well as the constituents.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court pointed out that the potential disruption to parliamentary activities could affect the emoluments of the MPs.