Supreme Court quashes some Standing Orders of Parliament
The Supreme Court of Ghana has struck out aspects of the Standing Orders of Parliament, Order 109(3) which directs a Deputy Speaker or any other member presiding in the capacity as a speaker not to retain their original vote while presiding.
The court on Wednesday, March 9 2022 dismissed an application to pronounce as unconstitutional, Joseph Osei Owusu’s action of counting himself for the purposes of quorum while presiding in the capacity as a speaker.
According to Justice Jones Dotse who ruled on the matter, “the Deputy Speaker of Parliament participation in voting was constitutional”.
Justice Abdulai, a private legal practitioner and law lecturer, asked the Supreme Court to declare Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu’s action of counting himself for quorum purposes as unconstitutional, following a November 30, 2021 clash between Speaker Bagbin and his First Deputy after the latter overturned an earlier vote of the House rejecting the Government’s 2022 Budget.
In the context of articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution, he contended that the Deputy Speaker could not include himself for quorum purposes because he did not have an original or a casting vote as Speaker presiding.
Nonetheless, the 7-member panel of justices ruled that “the Member of Parliament for Bekwai exercised his right constitutionally”.
Commenting on the ruling after the court proceedings, the plaintiff, Justice Abdulai told journalists that “this is a victory for the constitution.
“I am not surprised because I am a lawyer, I know that going to court there are only two outcomes, it is not like a football game where there will be a draw, it will either be a win or a loss.
“But in this case, I think no one lost, the constitution wins, the people of Ghana win, this is the best decision that I think we should have had, it puts clarity on the law despite the fact that some of the reliefs I was seeking were not obtained.
“There is a far-reaching decision that has been made by the Supreme Court today to the extent of striking out portions of the Standing Orders,” he concluded.
