Seek review on deputy speakers’ voting rights ruling – Mahama tells applicant
Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged the plaintiff in the dispute concerning the voting rights of deputy speakers presiding over parliamentary sessions to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Mahama expressed concern about the ability of the deputy speakers, who have been given the right to vote during proceedings, to ‘impartially’ choose the winning side in cases where there are voice votes.
“The first vote in most cases taken on a motion in Parliament is a voice vote. The presiding officer, whether the Speaker or any of his/her deputy speakers, is supposed to listen to which is the loudest, the ayes or the nays and make a determination.”
“If the deputy speakers are allowed to vote, then they must take part, first, in the voice vote. If you are presiding and can shout aye or nay with your party in the voice vote, how do you impartially determine which was the loudest?”
“What is the determination of the SC? That deputy speakers can shout aye or nay with the side they agree or disagree with in the voice vote?” he queried.
Mr. Mahama said the Supreme Court judgment is absurd.
He called on the applicant to apply for a review of the judgment.
“This judgment is regrettable, and I look forward to the applicant applying for a review of this ruling,” he added.
His calls resonate with comments of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who believes the ruling must be interrogated again.
According to him, the court’s judgment on the matter is absurd, reckless, and constitutes interference in the legislature’s activities.
“I encourage the plaintiff to go for a review,” Mr. Bagbin said in a statement.
He argues that the Supreme Court’s position on the matter is wrong and deserves to be reviewed.
“The SC decision is, to say the least, not only an absurdity but a reckless incursion into the remit of Parliament. The trend of unanimity is equally troubling. It doesn’t help explore and expand our legal jurisprudence,” he stated.
The verdict came in a lawsuit made by Justice Abdulai, a law professor, who was opposing the decision of the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, to count himself for a vote on the budget.
Mr. Osei-Owusu defended his key vote in the ratification of the 2022 budget, despite the fact that he was presiding as Speaker at the time.
Order 109 (3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament was likewise declared illegal by the court.
Mr. Osei-Owusu, who is also the Bekwai MP, presided over the overturning of an earlier House vote rejecting the government’s 2022 Budget on November 30, last year.
The First Deputy Speaker praised the decision by a seven-member Supreme Court panel, calling it “refreshing.”