NEWS

Supreme Court Halts Speaker’s Declaration of Four Parliamentary Seats as Vacant

LATEST NEWS: Supreme Court Halts Speaker’s Declaration of Four Parliamentary Seats as Vacant

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has put a stop to the Speaker of Parliament’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant. The ruling, delivered on Friday, October 18, 2024, by a five-member panel led by Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, temporarily reinstates the four Members of Parliament (MPs) whose seats were declared vacant the previous day. The panel included Justices Mariama Owusu, Kwame Adibu Asiedu, Ernest Yao Gaewu, and Yaw Darko Asare.

This decision came after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, ruled that the MPs had vacated their seats by switching their political allegiance ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections. The Speaker’s ruling was based on Article 97 of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates that an MP who leaves the party under whose ticket they were elected or contests future elections under a different party loses their seat.

However, the Supreme Court’s ruling, following an ex parte application filed by Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader, argued that the Speaker’s decision was legally premature and needed to be adjudicated by the courts before any declaration could take effect. The court agreed and issued a 10-day halt on the Speaker’s ruling, allowing the four MPs to retain their seats in the interim.

The ruling provides temporary relief for the affected MPs and their constituents, with the court emphasizing that the Speaker’s decision infringed upon the rights of their constituents. The court also ordered Parliament to submit its statement of case and memorandum of issues within seven days.

The Majority Leader welcomed the court’s ruling as a step toward ensuring due process and upholding the rule of law, expressing confidence that the courts would provide clarity on the issue. With the 2024 general elections approaching, this ruling has added further legal and political tension as both sides brace for continued legal battles.

The Supreme Court will reconvene in the coming days to hear substantive arguments in the case, but for now, the legal dispute keeps the status quo intact, maintaining the positions of the four MPs while the case unfolds.

Recommended Articles: