Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has cast doubt on a statement from Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin about the Supreme Court’s ruling on Deputy Speakers’ Right to vote.
The Leader, who doubles as Suame Member of Parliament, says he doesn’t want to believe Speaker Bagbin authored the reaction.
In the statement issued on Friday, Mr Bagbin said the Supreme Court’s decision, “is, to say the least, not only an absurdity but a reckless incursion into the remit of Parliament.”
He described the President’s [Nana Akufo-Addo] comment on the Supreme Court ruling about Deputy Speakers’ voting rights as myopic.
In his view, it goes to worsen the tension between the Executive and Parliament.
But, according to the Majority Leader, his conviction that Speaker Bagbin did not author the statement is due to the language that was used.
He explained he has sent messages to Mr Bagbin to ascertain the authenticity but is yet to receive any response.
“I am looking at the language that has been employed, I don’t want to believe that it is from the Speaker.
“I even sent a message inquiring whether this is from him, he hasn’t responded yet. I have always insisted that Deputy Speakers cannot be denied their votes,” he said in an interview with Accra-based TV3.
In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, a seven-member panel of the apex court held that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 103 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution, a Deputy Speaker, who happens to be a Member of Parliament does not lose his right to take part in decision making.
In view of the decision, the passing of the budget on November 30, 2021, in which the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joe Osei Owusu, counted himself as part of the quorum, was valid.
The court, presided over by Justice Jones Dotse, also struck down Order 109(3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament which prevented a Deputy Speaker presiding from voting, saying it is unconstitutional.
But the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has described the ruling as judicial support for the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).
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