Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor Expresses Concern About Supreme Court's Ruling Against Speaker

• Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has raised concerns about the Supreme Court's stay of execution of Speaker Alban Bagbin's recent ruling
• He said the Supreme Court's stay of the execution of the Speaker's order indefinitely, pending the determination of the substantive case, was wrong
• He added that the Speaker had not delivered a ruling but had delivered information in response to the petition filed by Haruna Iddrisu

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the South Dayi Member of Parliament, has expressed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus’ concern about the Supreme Court’s imposition of a stay of execution on Alban Bagbin’s ruling.

Alban Bagbin had ordered the vacation of four parliamentary seats after their continuous stay in parliament was found to be in contravention of Article 97 (1)(g) of the 1992 constitution.

However, after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus filed an ex parte application praying the court to stay the execution of the Speaker’s ruling, the Court, presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, granted their request.

Read also

Supreme Court stays execution of Alban Bagbin's ruling, orders affected MPs to return to parliament

Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Dafeamekpor told JoyNews that the Supreme Court’s stay of execution of Bagbin’s ruling for an indefinite period flouts the legal principles guiding law practice in Ghana, which states that ex parte orders must not exceed nine days.

He also disagreed that the Speaker had delivered a ruling against the four Members of Parliament.

According to him, Alban Bagbin had not delivered an order; rather, he had merely delivered information to parliament in response to the petition filed by Haruna Iddrisu, the former Minority Leader.

“The person who spoke to the Hosue said this is the information I have for you, so if you are labelling it as a ruling, I don’t know how that can be so labelled,” he said.

Per the above, he said the Supreme Court has thus erred by delivering a stay of execution against a non-executable statement by the Speaker.

Read also

Justice Abdulai says Speaker's ruling will force executive to cooperate closely with parliament

Lawyer provides further explanation

Lawyer Godslove Bogobley, in interaction with YEN.com.gh, has given a further explanation of the issue at hand.

He said;

"'Non-executable' simply means it was not an order to be carried out. All the Speaker did was provide a statement of fact concerning the situation.

"The Constitution says if an MP switches sides or becomes independent, he vacates his seat. The MPs in question changed their status, and the Speaker accordingly declared that their seats had been vacated. There were no orders to be implemented or 'executed'; hence, they were 'non-executable'.

"Ordinarily, to ignore the Speaker’s 'ruling' would amount to disobeying the Constitution. In fact, article 105 makes it a criminal offence to sit in Parliament when you know you’re not qualified to do so.

"Unfortunately, in this instance, the Supreme Court’s decision has to be followed. Even though it is not the “right” decision, an order of the Court remains valid until set aside. So, in this case, the Speaker’s “ruling” can be ignored only by virtue of the Supreme Court’s stay of execution."

Read also

Kwaku Azar says Alban Bagbin has created dangerous precedent by vacating four parliamentary seats

Justice Abdulai optimistic about change in parliament

YEN.com.gh reported that private legal practitioner Justice Abdulai said that the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin's decision to vacate four parliamentary seats would compel the executive arm of government to cooperate more closely with parliament.

He said Bagbin’s decision, which has ultimately reshaped the power balance in parliament, would have serious implications for how the executive branch interacts with parliament in the future.

He explained that with the National Democratic Congress now forming the majority caucus, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) would have no choice but to engage with the opposition to pass laws and implement its policies.

Source: YEN.com.gh