Afenyo-Markin Leads Minority walkout of Vetting for 3 Supreme Court Justice nominees

• The Minority in Parliament walked out of the Appointments Committee vetting session for three Supreme Court nominees on Thursday
• Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin argued the nominations arrived on Monday, leaving insufficient time for proper scrutiny
• Appointments Committee Chairman Bernard Ahiafor dismissed the Minority's objections as flimsy and baseless, proceeding with the session

Ghana's Minority caucus in Parliament boycotted the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees on Thursday, 27 August, citing what it called an unreasonably rushed timetable that fell short of established parliamentary practice.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin addressed Parliament's Appointments Committee before the walkout, making clear that the objection was directed at the process rather than the nominees personally.

He argued that no vacancy existed on the Supreme Court bench to justify the pace at which the vetting was being pursued, with the nominees set to expand the existing complement of justices rather than fill any vacant seat.

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Afenyo-Markin pointed out that the nominations had only been submitted to the House on Monday, leaving minimal time for adequate preparation and public notice before Thursday's sitting.

He challenged the Majority to identify what damage would result to the state, the judiciary or litigants if the standard level of scrutiny applied to Supreme Court appointments was observed.

"These nominations came to the House on Monday. Let us reason together and let us be seen as being consistent with our political views. If you want to follow the precedent, please suspend today's sitting, properly put out the advert as you requested when you were in opposition, and let us wait for the 14 days," Afenyo-Markin said.

The Minority also stated that its stance was not intended to embarrass the nominees or hinder the committee's work, but to ensure compliance with parliamentary procedure and constitutional requirements.

Ahiafor Rejects Minority's Objections

Appointments Committee Chairman Bernard Ahiafor dismissed the Minority's position, describing its grounds for objection as "flimsy", "hollow" and "baseless".

He said any member aggrieved by a decision of the House had recourse through the procedures set out in Parliament's Standing Orders, and that it was not within his authority to override or modify a decision already taken at the plenary level.

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"If you are aggrieved by the decision of the House, the method available for you to reverse that decision is contained in our own Standing Orders," Ahiafor said.

He also rejected the suggestion that Supreme Court nominees warranted treatment different from other nominees coming before the committee. Following his ruling, Afenyo-Markin led the Minority out of the chamber.

The three individuals facing vetting are Justice Sophia Bernasko-Essah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal; Justice Edward Amoako Asante, also a Court of Appeal Justice and former President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice; and Anthony Forson Jr., a private legal practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association.

Source: YEN.com.gh