Former NDC Member of Parliament for Tamale Central constituency, Inusah Fuseini has said that Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin can not be law unto himself.

According to him, he has to respect the ruling of the Supreme Court though he may not personally  agree with it.

The Supreme Court of Ghana has by a 5-2 decision ruled that the Speaker, Alban Bagbin's declaration of four seats as vacant is unconstitutional.

At a brief sitting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo said the Speaker's declaration cannot hold.

"By court in a majority decision of five two, Lovelace Johnson JSC and Amadu Tanko JSC dissenting on the issue of jurisdiction, the plaintiff's action succeeds the full reasons and orders of the court shall be filed with the registrar by close of date, tomorrow, 13th, November 2024 the is the judgment of the court," the Chief Justice said.

But speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, the former legislator explained that "though Speaker Bagbin may not agree with the ruling of the highest court of the land he cannot also say he will not obey. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land and that every decision made must be respected."

In as much as the Speaker of Parliament acted on a precedent and by law, the final determination of the Supreme Court should put every matter to rest and I'm not sure the Speaker will want to disobey the Supreme Court.

Background
 
On 17th October, 2024, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, declared four parliamentary seats vacant with just two months remaining until the election in December.

The legislators affected by the declaration are; Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah of the NDC, representing the Amenfi Central constituency in the Western Region; Andrew Amoako Asiamah of Fomena in the Ashanti Region; Kojo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum in the Eastern Region; and Cynthia Morrison of the NPP, representing Agona West constituency.

Their seats were declared vacant because they announced their intention to contest the December election as independent candidates in their respective constituencies.

This declaration means that Ghana's hung parliament, which previously gave the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP) a slight upper hand, with the support of independent MP, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, will now shift towards the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
 
Following this, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, filed an injunction application at the Supreme Court in response to the Speaker’s declaration.

The Court subsequently issued a stay in execution of the Speaker's declaration.

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