Supreme Court ruled Deputy Speaker of Parliament can be counted during the formation of a quorum
Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah, a former Attorney General and Foreign Affairs Minister, has given his view on the recent Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the voting right of a Deputy Speaker while presiding in the Parliament.
Speaking in an interview on Joy News on Monday, March 21, 2022, he questioned why the Parliamentary Standing Orders were declared ultra vires.
“The individual can take that position and it is intra vires but in the collective, in their power to regulate the proceedings of Parliament, they have that absolute power. They say look we are deciding collectively that if you are a Deputy Speaker, you don’t have the what? How can that be ultra vires? I don’t understand,” Dr. Asamoah said.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 9, ruled that a Deputy Speaker of Parliament can be counted during the formation of a quorum for parliamentary decision-making and participation in voting while presiding.
The landmark judgement was given after private legal practitioner, Justice Abdulai, filed a case against the Attorney-General to contest the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu’s decision to count himself during a vote to approve the 2022 budget.
The verdict by the Supreme Court has left the two leading political parties – NPP, NDC - deeply divided with the Minority Leader in Parliament, saying that the ruling is likely to exacerbate the existing tension in Parliament.
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Dr. Asamoah, please get this straight: the fact that you do not understand the Supreme Court ruling DOES NOT make that ruling wrong. it is that simple.
And from under which rock did this one crawl?
Why should the people of Bekwai lose their representation in decision-making as a core mandate of their MP? Just because, in a particular circumstance in parliament, their MP acts as a deputy speaker to regulate the procedure of the House. The constitution, however, upholds the utmost right of the people to have full representation in the house for decision-making. Other than that, you allow the parliamentary procedure to relegate it to the deputy speaker, and the whole constituency is denied its primary representation in decision-making. I just can't fathom why a one-time Attorney General would miss this fundamental if it is not intellectual dishonesty.
Obed Asamoah, get it straight into your head that the constitution is superior to every rule book in any institution in Ghana. The fact that you were Attorney General previously does not mean you are an authority in constitutional matters. Infact remember opinions are like noses, everyone has them. Honestly gerrrrout with your poor submission