Alban Bagbin is Partisan; NPP Must Remain Vigilant – Obiri Boahen
Obiri Boahen criticizes Speaker Alban Bagbin for perceived bias in declaring four parliamentary seats vacant
- Speaker's ruling has triggered significant turmoil within Parliament
- Obiri Boahen emphasizes the importance of adhering to judicial institutions
- Obiri Boahen urges the NPP to remain alert and proactive in light of Bagbin's actions
Private legal practitioner Nana Obiri Boahen has harshly criticized Parliament’s Speaker, Alban Bagbin, for declaring four seats vacant.
Lawyer Nana Obiri Boahen said the action by the speaker reveals his partisan stance, and for that matter, the NPP must be vigilant.
Speaking in an interview, Lawyer Nana Obiri Boahen expressed his disappointment, saying, “Alban Bagbin has subjected himself to public ridicule and contempt. I consider him a close friend, yet I find his ruling both faulty and fraudulent.”
He noted that the issue arose from a petition by former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, who sought to remove the MPs for their alleged loyalty to outside entities.
Lawyer Nana Obiri Boahen highlighted that Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin had informed the Speaker of ongoing legal action in the Supreme Court before the ruling, but Bagbin proceeded regardless.
He emphasized the importance of respecting judicial institutions.
He defended the Supreme Court’s decision to sit on a Friday for an ex parte application against criticisms that the court should not be in session on that day.
Background
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on Thursday, October 17, 2024, declared four parliamentary seats vacant on the grounds that the current occupants had defected by filing to contest the next elections on tickets different from those they represent in the current Parliament.
The ruling effectively ended the tenure of Agona West Member of Parliament (MP) Cynthia Morrison of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); Amenfi Central MP Peter Yaw Kwakye-Ackah of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); Suhum MP Kwadwo Asante of the NPP; and Fomena MP Andrew Asiamah Amoako, an independent MP. Ms. Morrison, Mr. Asante, and Mr. Kwakye-Ackah have all filed as independent candidates for the December 7 elections, while Mr. Asiamah Amoako, who was the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament until Mr. Bagbin’s ruling, filed to contest the Fomena seat on the ticket of the governing NPP.
The approximately 12-minute ruling, read in one of the quietest halls in Ghana’s legislature, was followed by near chaos as NPP members stood up and converged at the back of their side before the Speaker urged the marshals to escort them out.
The issue was triggered by former Minority Leader and MP for Tamale South Haruna Iddrisu, who petitioned the Speaker to remove the four from the legislature for holding allegiance to entities different from what they represented in the current Parliament.
Mr. Iddrisu had tabled the petition based on portions of Article 97 of the Constitution, arguing that those provisions abhorred switching allegiance midway through a parliamentarian’s tenure.
The Speaker agreed, stating in his ruling that the relevant MPs had, by their actions, vacated their seats in Parliament.
However, on Friday, October 18, 2024, the Supreme Court of Ghana issued a stay of execution on Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling, after Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin took urgent legal action, filing with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 15, to seek clarification on the status of the four MPs, who had decided to contest the upcoming December 2024 elections either as members of the NPP or as independent candidates.
This decision halts the implementation of the Speaker’s ruling pending further legal review. The ruling sparked a political storm, as it was seen as a critical moment in the ongoing contest between the Majority and Minority factions in Parliament.
The case was heard by a panel of Supreme Court justices, presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo. The panel also included Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Kwame Adibu Asiedu, Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, and Justice Yaw Darko Asare. Together, they delivered the ruling to stay the Speaker’s decision.
Representing the NPP MPs were lawyers Paa Kwesi Abaidoo and former Attorney General Joe Ghartey.
In addition to granting the application, the court directed the Speaker and the Attorney General to file their statement of case in the October 15 suit, filed by Afenyo-Markin, within seven days.
Following this, they are required to file a joint memorandum of issues within the next seven days to facilitate the swift determination of the matter, given the gravity of the issues raised in the suit
