Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, is questioning the locus of the Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, for filing an application on a human rights matter which does not affect him.
He says per the ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter, the declaration of the four seats vacant is a matter of human rights and cannot be championed by a party who is not affected in any way.
His comment follows an ex parte motion filed in the Supreme Court by Afenyo-Markin regarding the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, where some MPs who have chosen to switch allegiance in the future parliament have vacated their seats according to the law.
Mahama Ayariga, also a private legal practitioner, speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, October 19, 2024, questioned why Afenyo-Markin is the one leading a matter which according to the apex court bothers on human rights.
“If you listen to the ruling, they are saying that the matter before them is a human rights matter. And [it is] the right of the people of these four constituencies to be represented and the right of the MPs to represent their people. So, essentially, the Supreme Court is saying that it is a human rights matter that is before them.
“If it is a human rights matter, whose right was violated? Was it Afenyo-Markin’s right? Does Afenyo-Markin come from any of those constituencies? Is Afenyo-Markin one of the Members of Parliament? If he is not from that constituency, has his right to be represented been violated by anybody? If he is not one of the Members of Parliament, has his right to represent constituents been violated?
“So, where is the locus of Afenyo-Markin to be making an application in this matter?” he questioned.
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.
Declaration of 4 seats vacant: Kpebu questions Supreme Court’s decision on Bagbin’s ruling
