The four members of Parliament that switched allegiance in Parliament should have known the consequences of their actions before doing so, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law, has asserted.
He says the Standing Orders of the House and the constitution leaves no ambiguity on the procedures of Parliament, making the recent development out of place.
His comments come on the back of a declaration of some four seats vacant in Parliament which has been thrashed by the Supreme Court.
Commenting on the development on Onua TV’s morning show, Maakye, Monday, October 21, 2024, the Director of the Ghana School of Law said the ruling of the Speaker needs no interpretation.
He explained that Mr. Bagbin enforced what’s in the Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament, saying the MPs have themselves to blame for the repercussions of the ruling.
“If an MP dies or resigns three months to elections, there is no by-election. The constituency will not be represented by anyone until after the elections. So if you switch camp at this time, you should know and they should have considered their actions. With what happened, it wasn’t Bagbin who did it, it was the Constitution. This needs no interpretation.
“If someone dies, the law is clear on it. So those who have died since 1992, how many of them went to the Supreme Court for interpretation? They depend on the Standing Orders,” he told host, Captain Smart in Twi.
He made the comments based on the Supreme Court’s verdict on a ruling by Parliament where the Speaker declared four seats vacant.
The Supreme Court on Friday, October 18, 2024, issued a stay of execution on the ruling by Speaker Alban Bagbin declaring some four parliamentary seats vacant.
The Court also directed Parliament to recognise and allow the four MPs to fully represent their constituencies and carry out their official duties.
The applicants had initially requested for a 10-day but the Supreme Court says they should carry on with their roles as MPs until the final ruling on the matter has been delivered.
The application to stay the Speaker’s decision was filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, who sought the Court’s intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling that would have affected three of their colleagues and one from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The application was filed ex parte, meaning that neither Speaker Bagbin nor Parliament was joined to the case.
The ex parte application made the Court consider the plaintiffs’ request without seeking any response from the Speaker or other parliamentary authorities at this stage.
The case was heard by a panel of Supreme Court justices presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo.
Other members of the panel included Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Kwame Adibu Asiedu, Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, and Justice Yaw Darko Asare, who together delivered the ruling to stay the Speaker’s decision.
Representing the NPP MPs were lawyers Paa Kwesi Abaidoo and former Attorney General Joe Ghartey.
They successfully argued for the stay, which temporarily halts the Speaker’s ruling pending further legal proceedings. The Court’s decision effectively keeps the four MPs’ seats intact in the meantime.
The ruling affected three NPP MPs made up of Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), and independent candidate who was doing business with the Majority, Andrew Asiamah (Fomena), and one NDC MP, Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central), who either chose to run as independent candidates or switched party affiliations for the 2024 elections.
As a result, the NDC, previously in the Minority, now becomes a majority with 136 seats with the NPP remaining with 135 seats now assuming minority.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision on the ex parte motion reverses the ruling of the Speaker until the final ruling on the matter is delivered.
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