The House of Parliament is considering a suit against President of the Republic, Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, over his failure to assent to the Witchcraft and Armed Forces bills.
The Speaker of Parliament, Albert Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, made the revelation, indicating that assessing the misuse of discretion is an authority that lies exclusively with the Judiciary and not the Executive which he (Akufo-Addo) heads.
Speaker Bagbin, in Parliament’s official response to the President for not signing the bills said Mr. Akufo-Addo acted unconstitutionally and the House is considering challenging him in the apex court of the land –the Supreme Court.
He advised the President to desist from such acts which discredits his personality and the highest office he occupies.
“The determination of any unconstitutionality is the sole purview of the Supreme Court, not the President. Hence, if there were concerns about Parliament acting beyond its constitutional authority, i.e., acting ultra vires, the appropriate course of action would be an action before the Supreme Court, not an executive declaration of unconstitutionality.
“Again, the constitutional discretion vested in the presiding officer of Parliament, as per Article 108 and subject to Article 296, suggests that any allegations of misuse of this discretion should be contested in a court of competent jurisdiction, rather than being pre-emptively adjudicated upon by the President.”
Meanwhile, private legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu, had earlier suggested on the KeyPoints on TV3 that, the back and forth on the bills should be settled at the Supreme Court.
President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2023 declined to sign the Criminal Offences Bill of 2022, the Witchcraft Bill, and the Armed Forces Bill of 2023.
The President attributed his refusal to assent to the bills to their financial implications on the state, adding that the Bills which are private member-sponsored, should have come from his office.
He particularly pointed to the financial burdens associated with replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment in the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill, sponsored by Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu.
