National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ada, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe, has emphasized that parliamentarians take instructions from the Speaker of Parliament and not the Supreme Court.
This follows Alban Bagbin officially declaring four parliamentary seats vacant. The affected constituencies are Amenfi Central, Fomena, Agona West, and Suhum.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court chaired by the Chief Justice has granted a stay of execution of the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin to declare the seats of four Members of Parliament (MPs) vacant over the switch of allegiance following an ex parte application by the majority leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin.
The petition triggered extensive debates and arguments within Parliament, with both the Majority and Minority sides presenting their cases.
According to the constitutional provisions cited in the motion, MPs who abandon their party affiliations to run independently are required to relinquish their parliamentary positions
Due to the unrest in parliament, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has announced the indefinite adjournment of parliamentary proceedings, a decision made on Tuesday, October 22.
However, speaking on Starr Today with Efia Tutuwaa Danso, the deputy chief whip for the NDC caucus, Comfort Cudjoe, has clarified that she is not disregarding Supreme Court proceedings but instead following instructions from the Speaker of Parliament who is in charge of overseeing parliamentary affairs.
She further suggested that if the Supreme Court has concerns with the Speaker’s ruling, they should communicate with him and he will address them (parliamentarians).
“I am not disregarding the Supreme Court proceedings. It is the speaker who brings it to the floor and gives instructions. We don’t take instructions from the Supreme Court. We take instruction from our Speaker of Parliament as parliamentarians. So if they have an issue, they should speak to the speaker, then the speaker will speak to us.”
She further stated that as second deputy whip, she will collaborate with the parliamentary clerks to secure seating arrangements for independent candidates within the chamber since they do not belong to either side of the house.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Salimatu Nuhu
