Supreme court rejects Alban Bagbin application to still declare the 4 seats vacant – Details

The Supreme Court has rejected Speaker Alban Bagbin’s appeal to reverse the Court’s decision to suspend the four parliamentary seats as vacant.

This comes after Alexander Afenyo-Markin, an Effutu MP, filed a first lawsuit contesting the Speaker’s statement.

Among other points raised in court, the Speaker’s legal team contended that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction in this matter.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court insisted that its previous decision was reasonable after hearing arguments from all sides, including the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice, and declared that the Speaker’s appeal lacked validity.

“We have considered the application, and we have come to the conclusion that the grounds supporting the application have no merit,” the Chief Justice stated.

Prior to this ruling, the Court also rejected a challenge to the appointment of Justice Ernest Gaewu made by Speaker’s attorney Thaddeus Sory.

Mr. Sory contended that Justice Gaewu’s prior position as an NPP parliamentary candidate raised the possibility of a conflict of interest.

The Supreme Court, however, dismissed this argument.

This decision follows the Court’s October 18 directive to Parliament to permit the four Members of Parliament to remain in office until the matter is settled, so halting the Speaker’s October 17 announcement.

Given that both parties presently claim a majority in Parliament, this issue is especially important.