Chief Justice dismisses Speaker’s application asking Justice Gaewu to recuse himself

The Speaker of Parliament requested that Justice Gaewu step out from the panel to hear the matter on whether the Supreme Court could overturn his designation of four seats vacant but the court denied his request.

Through his attorneys, the Speaker requested that the court postpone his October 17 decision that declared about four House seats vacant in order to overturn a previous decision it had made on the subject.

The Speaker claims that the judge who heard the application is a member of the ruling NPP. The hearing took place today, Wednesday, October 30.

He claims that Justice Ernest Gaewu previously ran for parliament in the Volta region on the platform of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

During court hearings on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, Speaker’s attorney Thaddeus Sory stated that Justice Gaewu’s NPP affiliation and his position as a judge on a case whose conclusion might impact the party’s interests could jeopardize his judgment.

“He was known to be associated with New Patriotic Party (NPP) and in fact he was a parliamentary candidate in one of their constituencies in the Volta Region,” Thaddeus Sory argued.

However, the Supreme Court asserts that membership in a certain political party does not exclude someone from sitting as a Supreme Court justice.

According to the Chief Justice’s decision, a person is qualified to hear certain matters once they have been vetted and authorized by Parliament. According to her, the court now includes a former NDC parliamentary candidate and a former general secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC).

The issue at hand is the declaration of certain parliamentary seats as vacant after members of the previous Parliament switched allegiance.

People who want to run on the ticket of a rival political party or who change their allegiance to continue doing business with that caucus are prohibited from doing so under Article 97(g)(h), which leaves their seats vacant.

Following the Speaker’s decision on Thursday, October 17, 2024, the majority caucus dwindled in size and became a minority, while the minority caucus emerged as the majority.

However, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the NPP caucus, who had the majority before the verdict, submitted the case to the Supreme Court for an interpretation of Article 97.

After Afenyo-Markin filed an ex parte motion on the declaration of the seats empty, the court opted to defer the Speaker’s decision until the substantive case was resolved.

The NPP caucus walked out the House’s next meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, when the Speaker adjourned Parliament indefinitely due to a lack of quorum.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com