The "Absurdity" Of Supreme Court Ruling Will Be Realized In Its Practicality- Asiedu Nketia
General Secretary of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, says the absurdity of the Supreme Court ruling will be realized in its practicality.
According to him, the NDC's concern with the Supreme Court's borders on the likely bastardisation of the Constitution.
He says the framers of the 1992 constitution in their own wisdom wrote the constitution in such a manner that all these issues will be addressed by it when they came up.
Speaking on Okay Fm's Ade Akye Abia programme, Mr Asiedu Nketia explained that the constitution remains the supreme law of the state and that nothing should be made to be inconsistent with any provision of the constitution, including certain humongous decisions of the apex court.
"How are you even going to praticalized this? It will so absurd for the deputy speaker who is mediating the affairs of the House to be inolved in voting when there is an issue in parliament.
"The constitution states clearly his role as a deputy speaker of parliament. If he had wanted to take part in the voting process of the House, why then did he decide to take up the seat as a First Deputy?
"If the supreme court continues to do things this way then the sanctity of the constitution will be lost and that is our biggest worry as a politcal party," he added.
Earlier this year, a private legal practitioner and law lecturer, Justice Abdulai subsequent to the November 30, 2021 clash between Speaker Bagbin and his First Deputy after the latter overturned an earlier vote of the House rejecting Government’s 2022 Budget, invited the Supreme Court to pronounce as unconstitutional, Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu’s action of counting himself for the purposes of quorum.
He argued in the context of articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution that the Deputy Speaker was not permitted to count himself for the purposes of quorum, since he had neither an original nor a casting vote as Speaker presiding.
But the court presided over by Justice Jones Dotse, held that the Deputy Speaker does not lose his right to take part in decision-making upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 103 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution.
The court, therefore, held that the passing of the budget on November 30, 2021, in which Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker counted himself as part of the quorum, was valid.
Also, the court struck down order 109(3) of the standing orders of Parliament which prevented a deputy Speaker presiding from voting, as unconstitutional.
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