ALEXANDER AFENYO MARKIN VS SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT & ANOR
2024
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- SACKEY TORKORNOO (MRS.) CJ (PRESIDING)
- OWUSU (MS.) JSC
- ASIEDU JSC
- GAEWU JSC
- DARKO ASARE JSC
Areas of Law
- Constitutional Law
2024
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case revolves around the Speaker of Parliament's request to set aside a suit challenging his ruling that declared four parliamentary seats vacant due to members' nominations for the next Parliament. The Supreme Court found that the Speaker's arguments lacked merit and upheld its jurisdiction to interpret and enforce constitutional provisions. The Speaker's ruling was deemed executable, affecting the rights of the MPs and their constituents. The Court rejected claims of procedural violations and justified its ex parte orders given the exceptional circumstances, highlighting the constitutional mandate to prevent violation of rights and uphold the rule of law.
SACKEY TORKORNOO (MRS.) CJ
INTRODUCTION
The Speaker of Parliament, as 1st Defendant in this suit and Applicant in this application, is praying this Court for an order setting aside the processes and proceedings of the Plaintiff’s suit filed on 15th October 2024, and vacating an order made by this Court on 18th October 2024.
On 18th October 2024, this Court heard an application for stay of execution of a ruling of the Applicant declaring four seats in Parliament vacant on 17th October 2024. The application urged that, the effect of this ruling is that the said Members of Parliament for the four constituencies in Western, Eastern, Central, and Ashanti Regions were declared to have vacated their seats by the Speaker of Parliament and if the Speaker’s ruling is enforced, the affected Members of Parliament would have had to leave Parliament and all duties and responsibilities entrusted to them by reason of their being members of Parliament from the 18th October 2024. These members of Parliament are namely Hon. Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Member of Parliament for Agona West constituency in the Central Region, Honorable Andrew Asiama Amoako, MP for Fomena Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Hon. Kwadwo Asante, Member of Parliament for Suhum Constituency in the Eastern Region, and Hon Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah, MP for Amenfi Central in the Western Region.
Eight grounds have been presented to us in today’s application. The submissions made in support of them can be summarized as follows:
1. That the Constitution and laws of Ghana provide no grounds to allow the actions of the Speaker of Parliament while presiding over Parliament to be questioned in any court, including the Supreme Court, because of the doctrine of separation of powers that guides Ghana’s constitutional democracy.
2. That because of a Circular issued by the Chief Justice of Ghana in 2021 and repeated by another Circular issued by the current Chief Justice under the hand of the Judicial Secretary, the service of the processes in this suit on the Speaker of Parliament was invalid. As such, the Speaker of Parliament, under the hand of the Clerk of Parliament had returned court processes served by the bailiffs of the Supreme Court back to the Supreme Court
3. That whenever there is a vacation of parliamentary seat and this is identified by Parliament in its proceedings, the only lawful forum for disputing any issue concerning the vacation of seat is the High Court as provided for in article 99 of the