President Nana Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the voting rights of Deputy Speakers of Parliament is so clear that it should put the matter to rest.
He said he was surprised by the controversies that surrounded the issue of whether or not Deputy Speakers could vote while presiding over the business of the House in the absence of the Speaker.
But reacting to the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling, former President John Dramani Mahama said the apex court had set “a dangerous precedent for the country’s Parliamentary procedure” with its decision.
“A unanimous 7-0? Shocking but not surprising. An unfortunate interpretation for convenience that sets a dangerous precedent of judicial interference in Parliamentary procedure for the future,” Mr Mahama tweeted.
Transparency
However, President Akufo-Addo, who is renowned for his legal prowess in the country’s courts, especially on constitutional issues, considers the decision as unquestionably right.
“As far as I can see it, and I think the Supreme Court has confirmed it, the matters involved in this are open and shut, they are black and white. There can be no dispute about the issues that the gentleman took to the Supreme Court,” the President stated in an interview with a section of the media.
According to him, Articles 102, 104 of the Constitution make it absolutely clear, “in black and white”, that the Deputy Speakers have the right to participate in the vote of the Parliament when they are presiding.
“Indeed, and I believe that is part of the reasoning of the Court, all the Legislatures of the world, where the presiding person is a Member of the Legislature, like our Deputy Speakers are, like the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States of America or the President pro tempore of the Senate in the United States, or the Speaker of the British Parliament, have the right to speak because they are Members of the Assembly,” President Akufo-Addo added.
He explained that Ghana’s Speaker doesn’t have the right to vote because he is not a Member of Parliament.
“In fact, he really ought not to participate in the deliberations of the House. He is a referee making sure that the debate is conducted properly, or the Orders of the House are complied with. That is his role. But he ought, strictly speaking, not to be part of the proceedings of the House. That is not the case with the Deputy Speakers, and that matter is transparent on the face of our Constitution,” he argued.
The President made reference to the fact that the Presiding Members of the country’s District Assemblies have the right to vote because they are members of their respective Assemblies.
“Once you’re a member of the Assembly, and you’re representing certain constituencies. If you are denied your right to vote, it is tantamount to denying the right of the people you represent to have a say in the decisions of the Assembly. That will not be right. So, I could not understand the furore and controversy that were artificially generated,” he added.
No judicial interference
The President again said the decision of the apex court cannot amount to judicial interference in the work of Parliament. He emphasised that the suggestion that Parliament is beyond the scrutiny of the Supreme Court suggests that it is a law onto itself.
“I’m not sure people who are saying this have actually taken the time to read the Constitution of our country. It says so in black and white. The legislative powers of the State, which is vested in Parliament, is subject to the provisions of the Constitution. All organs of the Ghanaian State, including me as the Head of the Executive, we are all subject to the teachings of the Constitution,” the President said.
He argued that “the whole principle of judicial review was developed by the judges, both in America and England, to be able to check the activities of Parliament.”
President Akufo-Addo made reference to the first major constitutional case that looked at the work of Parliament, Tuffuor vs Attorney General, where the Act of Parliament, the decision of the Parliament to subject the then Chief Justice, the late Frederick Kwesi Apaloo, to a vetting process in Parliament had been expressly forbidden by the Constitution.
“And that is the reason why the late Dr. Amoako Tuffuor took the matter to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court made it quite clear that all the activities of all the institutions of our Republic that impugn, that violate the Constitution are subject to the powers of the Court and to the declarations of the Court,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated that he is subject to the Constitution and to law, saying “I cannot set myself above it, and that everybody has his remit, but those remits are subject to the operations of Constitution”.
“I am happy that the Constitution has been so declared in such an emphatic manner by the Supreme Court, I support the Supreme Court to continue to do its work,” he added.
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