Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin, yesterday abandoned the suit filed by Alexander Afenyo-Markin seeking interpretation of Article 97(1)(g)(h) of the 1992 Constitution, by not filing a statement of case or memorandum of issues to be settled.
The court, at the last sitting, had given counsel for Speaker time to file a statement of case in response to the case filed prior to the Speaker declaring four seats in Parliament vacant, on ground that the four Members of Parliament (MPs) had abandoned the parties with which they were elected.
But the Speaker had no representation in court yesterday, neither was his lawyers present when the case was called for further proceedings.
That notwithstanding, a seven-member panel of the court presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo and assisted by Justices Mariama Owusu, Avril Lovelace Johnson, Amadu Tanko, Samuel Asiedu, Ernest Gaewu and Yaw Asare Darko, after listening to counsel for Afenyo-Markin and the Attorney General, adjourned the case to today for judgement.
Vacant Seats
The Speaker of Parliament, on Thursday, October 17, 2024, declared the seats of four Members of Parliament vacant following a motion filed by former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu on ground that they were no longer members of the political parties on which ticket they were elected.
The affected MPs include Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah (Amenfi Central), Andrew Asiamah Amoako (Fomena), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), and Cynthia Mamle Morrison (Agona West).
Suit
Mr. Afenyo-Markin is seeking a declaration that the MPs filing their nomination to contest either on the ticket of another political party or as independent candidates does not result in a declaration of their seats vacant.
His lawyer, Joe Ghartey, in his argument before the Supreme Court yesterday, argued that any futuristic interpretation of Article 97(1)(g)(h) would result in an absurdity.
He said going by the provision of the constitution with regards to the underlined principle that has been established, a person leaving the party with which he was elected to Parliament to join another party or going independent in a future election does not result in a vacant seat.
This, he said, would result in denying the person right to freely join any association of his choosing.
AG’s Take
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, on his part asserted that an MP filing nomination to contest an upcoming election for a place in a future Parliament does not lead to a vacation of seat.
According to him, the filing of nomination by a sitting MP to contest a future parliamentary election on the ticket of a political party, when he had been elected for the life of the current Parliament as an independent candidate, does not result in vacation of his or her seat.
He contended that the composition of Parliament can only be altered strictly in accordance with the constitution, stressing that no person or institution has the power to alter the composition, except in accordance with procedures known to the constitution.
Mr. Dame again argued that it is so clear from the constitution that whenever an MP decides to change his or her political identity or the constitution itself seeks to change the composition of Parliament in the future by way of addition of new constituencies, it has no effect on the current Parliament.
Unconstitutional Precedents
Mr. Dame also described the decision by former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, to declare the seat of Fomena MP, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, vacant in 2020 unconstitutional and erroneous.
He said no matter the number of times an unconstitutional act is repeated, it does not make it right.
He also argued that the 2020 decision by the then Speaker cannot be a justification for Mr. Bagbin’s unconstitutional act of declaring the four seats vacant.
The panel adjourned the case to today for judgement.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak