Manasseh Azure Awuni, an investigative journalist, has responded to the Supreme Court verdict that overruled Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four seats vacant by calling the country’s justice system “worse than the constitutional crisis in parliament.”
Manasseh Azure’s comment refers to Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo’s recent description of the impasse in Parliament and Speaker Bagbin’s decision to adjourn the House indefinitely as a “constitutional crisis.”
In a statement on his social media pages, Manasseh questioned the Supreme Court’s decision to expedite Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s hearing, noting that the court had previously delayed action on crucial cases.
Manasseh Azure noted the court’s poor speed in issuing a decision on the injunction applications filed against the anti-gay bill, officially called as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill of 2024.
Ghana’s justice system is worse than parliamentary crisis – Manasseh Azure
“What is the point in declaring a constitutional crisis over lack of parliamentary proceedings when the outcome of parliamentary proceedings is ignored by the executive, and the judiciary doesn’t see it fit to expeditiously resolve the matter brought before it?” asked the jurist.
Manasseh Azure also criticized the judiciary’s role in depriving inhabitants of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) parliamentary representation for the previous four years, calling the court case as “dragging at the pace of a wounded snail.”
“The typical Ghanaian with a shred of honesty in their veins would agree that if SALL had been an NPP stronghold, it would not have gone four years without an MP. He stated that the Electoral Commission would have finished all legal formalities necessary to hold an election there.
On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the Supreme Court found by a 5-2 majority that Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to declare the seats of Agona West, Suhum, Amenfi Central, and Fomena vacant was unconstitutional. This decision establishes the governing NPP MPs as the majority caucus in Parliament and the NDC MPs as the minority caucus.