President Akufo-Addo has waded in the ruling by the Supreme Court that the Deputy Speaker can vote and be part of the quorum for decision-making when he presides over affairs in Parliament.
According to him, the ruling should put the issue on Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu opting to vote on the budget to rest adding that no institution is above the law.
The apex court on Wednesday 9th March 2022 ruled that the Deputy Speaker when presiding can exercise a vote contrary to Standing Order 13 of Parliament.
The contentious issue was whether a Deputy Speaker of Parliament presiding over proceedings can vote or should be counted as part of the quorum.
The panel chaired by Justice Jones Dotse also said the approval of the budget was valid.
Reacting to the ruling, President Akufo-Addo indicated that there is difficulty in understanding what the Constitution explains on the matter.
“All organs of the state including me as the head of the executive, are subject to the constitution. There is no body or organ in the Ghanaian state that is above the laws of the land. To suggest that Parliament should operate without interference is to advocate for the very matter we have tried to avoid, the concentration of power. We have had that experience before and don’t want that.
“As far as I can see it, and I think the Supreme Court has confirmed it, the matters involved in this are open and shut, they are black and white. There can be no dispute about the issues that the gentleman took to the Supreme Court,” President Akufo-Addo said during interaction with the media on Thursday.
However, former President John Mahama has described the ruling as dangerous.
“A unanimous 7-0? Shocking but not surprising. An unfortunate interpretation for convenience that sets a dangerous precedent of judicial interference in Parliamentary procedure for the future,” Mr. Mahama wrote on Twitter.
Also addressing the media in Parliament after ruling, Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu accused the judiciary of interfering in the work of the legislature which is another independent arm of government.
The Tamale South MP stated the ruling means Deputy Speakers must be stripped of their courtesies since the judgment makes them ordinary MPs contrary to what pertains in the UK and other jurisdictions.
“Our attention has been drawn to a disappointing ruling of the Supreme Court of Ghana (which) is more or less amounts to judicial interference in a time tested parliamentary practice and established conventions.
“The Supreme Court, to put it bluntly, this ruling is judicial support for E-levy nothing more, for a struggling economy in distress. Judicial support for the restoration of a matter that they have said is constitutional is repugnant to Articles 102 and 104 but what can we do. They are cloaked with the mandate to interpret the law,” he observed.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Isaac Dzidzoamenu
