“Parliament weakens itself when its members keep running to our courts” – Speaker

Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has voiced his displeasure with lawmakers’ increasing tendency to ask the Supreme Court to get involved in parliamentary matters.

He claims that the legislative body’s respect and authority are being threatened by this circumstance.

At a press conference on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, the Speaker expressed his worries and urged MPs to show more devotion to Parliament and restrict requests for outside court intervention.

In response to the Minority’s request that the Speaker declare the seats of certain candidates empty, Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin filed a motion for an injunction at the highest court.

Mr. Bagbin described this trend as detrimental to the institution’s reputation and cited this and other recent cases in which members of the Majority used the Supreme Court to settle disputes inside Parliament.

“Most worrying is that these proceedings are initiated by some members of parliament, even leaders of Parliament, who ought to know better,” he stated.

Alban Bagbin claims that this dependence on the Supreme Court undermines Parliament’s autonomous power and shows a lack of faith in the body itself.

“Parliamentarians who are to be loyal to Parliament rather than to the Supreme Court run to the Supreme Court at the slightest opportunity to use the Supreme Court to undermine Parliament,” he said.

“This might be one of the reasons Parliament and members of Parliament are not respected and are treated with disdain.”

In order to prevent outside interference and maintain the institution’s integrity in the public’s eyes, the Speaker asked Members of Parliament to first acknowledge their duty to Parliament.

“Parliament weakens itself when its members keep running to our courts to settle or seek favourable determinations of not just legal matters, but essentially political and governance questions. It is my strong belief the matter before the Supreme Court can be settled within Parliament through mature deliberations and compromises.”

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com