General News of Sunday, 3 November 2024

Source: mynewsgh.com

Supreme Court under Akufo-Addo behaves like a supra-constitutional body – Tony Aidoo

Dr. Tony Aidoo, former Ghana Ambassador to the Netherlands Dr. Tony Aidoo, former Ghana Ambassador to the Netherlands

Dr. Tony Aidoo, the former Ghana Ambassador to the Netherlands, has asserted that the Supreme Court under President Akufo-Addo behaves like a supra-constitutional body interfering in every activity of Parliament.

During an interview on Newsfile on JoyNews monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Dr Tony Aidoo stated that the suit filed by the Majority Leader, Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has no legal backing.

“The Supreme Court in the past years, especially under the Akufo-Addo administration, behaved as if it’s a supra-constitutional body that can interfere in every activity of Parliament.

Afenyo-Markin’s writ did not show any legal course for interpretation,” Dr. Aidoo bemoaned.

According to Dr. Tony Aidoo, the case of seats declared vacant is not a legal issue but a consequence of the actions of the member of parliament under a very clear conditional provision that needs no interpretation.

He threw his support behind the Speaker of Parliament, saying that Alban Bagbin applied the law stated in Article 97 Act 1 (g)(h).

He further questioned why the Supreme Court acted like a sixth colonist for the ruling NPP.

“Every case the NPP loses in Parliament, it takes it to the Supreme Court because they know it is a pact court where decisions are taken to favor them. This is not the root of proper governance of our country,” Dr. Aidoo lamented.

The Supreme Court of Ghana dismissed an application by Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, who sought to reverse a previous ruling that blocked his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.

This decision adds another layer to the ongoing legal debate surrounding the scope of the Speaker’s powers and the judiciary’s role in parliamentary decisions.

Speaker Bagbin’s application aimed to nullify the Supreme Court’s decision that temporarily halted his ruling on the four seats.

The Speaker also sought to set aside a writ filed by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, which had requested judicial intervention to prevent the Speaker from issuing further declarations on the disputed seats.