First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has indicated that comments made by members of the opposition, NDC, on the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling that Deputy speakers can vote are based on emotions.
The first Deputy Speaker (Joewise) said that the sentiments being raised by the minority caucus are not legal, reports asaaseradio.com.
According to him, the ruling of the Supreme Court is well within the permit of the law.
“I would have loved to hear legal arguments to counter the decision of the Supreme Court. I’ve read what is alleged to be former president’s [John Mahama] comments, I’ve read minority leader’s comments; indeed, I’ve seen a video of him making those comments.
“If you ask me, they are just emotional responses to the judgment. I would want to hear legal arguments; I want to see someone show that what the Supreme Court said is not the focus of the constitution,” the Deputy Speaker, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bekwei is quoted.
He further stated that the ruling of the highest court of Ghana is not about political theories or practices, as being argued by some members of the NDC, but about the highest law of the land, the constitution.
“…This is not about political theory; it is not about parliamentary practice; it is about what the constitution says and what the constitution does not say. I would want to hear legal arguments, not emotional outbursts. So, I will never respond to emotional arguments because fortunately, my mind tends to respond to legal arguments,” he reiterated.
The Supreme Court has explained that the proper interpretation of Articles 103 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana shows that Deputy Speakers do not lose their right to take part in decision-making while sitting in the stead of the Speaker.
The opposition National Democratic Congress and the minority caucus of Parliament have described the ruling by the court as an interference in the working of an equal branch of the government.
While President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and members of the majority caucus of Parliament have stated that the court is right and argue that the Constitution supersedes the Standing Orders of Parliament.
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin indicated that the court did not have the mandate to rule on the process of Parliament and has urged the petitioner, justice Abdulai, to file for a review of the ruling by the court.
