An unambiguous directive from the Supreme Court to Parliament appears to have befuddled the legislature.
Expunge the name of Gyakye Quayson from the records from the legislative arm of government, goes the directive from the apex court.
The way the NDC-garbed Speaker and the Minority are handling the issue even after the former wrote to the Clerk to write to the Electoral Commission (EC) declaring the seat vacant smacks of some political mischief.
What clarification does the Speaker want after the clearly expressed ‘expunge name’ directive?
The ruling is clear and one wonders why Ablakwa raised the issue the way he did.
Is what they are doing not a subtle affront to our judiciary? Yes it is. This is not how Montesquieu wanted the game to be played.
Such a posturing of lawmakers not respecting the law raises questions whether they deserve honour from persons outside the Chamber.
Sometimes it appears we are not ready to expand the frontiers of our democracy. One wonders the motive of Ablakwa in raising the issue or they are not ready to respect the orders of the Supreme Court?
Mr. Speaker, at the time you were speaking last Thursday was Gyakye Quayson still a Member of Parliament? We are reluctant to say that the Speaker who is a lawyer of repute holds the ruling in contempt.
Mr. Speaker, on point of order don’t allow some of the NDC MPs to mislead you to deviate from the norms of parliamentary procedure.
The Speaker and the MPs know what it means to expunge something from the records. When the Speaker directs some MPs to retract their statements when they deviate and the MPs oblige, their statements do appear in the Hansard.
So why are they seeking clarification from the Supreme Court when Parliament does what the former directs it to do so everyday?
Is the Speaker now behaving like Pontius Pilate by washing his hand off the directive from the Supreme Court by saying the apex court did not mention his name but directed its order to Parliament?
Is the Speaker today redefining the structure of Parliament to exclude him where all this while he has made orders on behalf of the House?
We will appeal to Parliament to make an attempt to put Ghana first ahead of their political persuasions. But for the extreme partisanship, there will not be any confusion about the Supreme Court directive on Gyakye Quayson. Why will Ablakwa be looking for Gyakye Quayson’s name in the records last Thursday when two days earlier the Minority was in a hurry to go to Assin North to campaign for Gyakye Quayson?
If Gyakye Quayson was still a bona fide Member of Parliament, why is he in Assin Bereku campaigning as NDC parliamentary candidate in Assin North for the by-elections?
We plead with the Speaker and Parliament to let this matter rest and concentrate on matters of bread and butter that Ghanaians need in these trying times. Mr. Speaker, don’t come again on the directive from the Supreme Court to you to expunge the name of Gyakye Quayson from all parliamentary records.