The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has chastised President Akufo-Addo for his comments on the Supreme Court’s ruling about Deputy Speakers voting while presiding as speaker.
According to him, he has resisted the temptation to comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court however, the comments of the president have compelled him to let it out.
Speaker Alban Bagbin described President Akufo-Addo’s comments as “unfortunate and myopic.”
The Apex Court in a unanimous decision ruled that Deputy Speakers of Parliament can take part in voting while presiding over proceedings in the absence of the Speaker.
The ruling, which was rejected by the Minority Caucus, as a judicial support for the controversial e-levy was defended by the president.
Supporting the SC’s ruling, Akufo-Addo, stated that no organ of state is above the law. “To suggest that Parliament should operate without interference is to advocate for the very matter we have tried to avoid, the concentration of power. We have had that experience before and don’t want that,”, he argued.
But the Speaker believes that “the SC’s decision, is to say the least, not only an absurdity but a reckless incursion into the remit of Parliament.”
“The President’s comment is myopic and unfortunate. It only goes to worsen the schism between the Executive and Parliament”, he criticized.
To support his position, the speaker said “Mr. President, the issue being discussed is not about Parliament being above the law. Everyone knows that Parliament is not above the law. The Executive and the Judiciary are equally not above the law. The issue being discussed is the political question doctrine. It took centuries to detail out the strands of this doctrine and the principles are settled as to when and how this closed book could be opened.”
Taking a swipe at the SC, he declared that the trend of unanimity is equally troubling as it doesn’t expand the legal jurisprudence.
Alban Bagbin concluded the impartiality of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker or Presiding Officer has been treasured and fought for by this country throughout our democratic development.
Similarly former President John Dramani Mahama has criticised the ruling of the Court as an absurdity while members of the Majority Caucus have hailed it.
Meanwhile, the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has described the statement being attributed to the Speaker as false.
“This is an imaginary comment attributed to Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin by a partisan media platform. Per my checks, the Speaker has made no such statement.”
