The Attorney General’s office has welcomed the dismissal of the review application of the Supreme Court ruling on Deputy Speakers filed by Justice Abdulai.
Speaking to journalists after the dismissal of the application on Tuesday April 26, Deputy Attorney General, Diana Asonaba Dapaah said “The Supreme Court ruled that the application by Justice Abdulai is unmeritorious. I am satisfied with the ruling of the court.”
Justice Abdulai however said posterity will be the best judge following the dismissal of his application.
Also speaking to journalists after the dismissal of his application he said “I think we have to move on as a nation. What I didn’t want was the situation where posterity will question us as to why we didn’t take this small window of opportunity that was available to us for a possible review of the decision of the of the Supreme Court on the 9th of March.
“I think posterity will judge our call in the positive light that we did everything we ought to have done to get the sort of judgement that we needed but this is what the Supreme Court says and we all have to live by that.”
Abdulai’s review application was dismissed on grounds that it is unmeritorious.
Abdulai filed for a review of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the right of Deputy Speakers to vote in Parliament.
The apex court on Wednesday March 9 dismissed an application to pronounce as unconstitutional, Joseph Osei Wusu’s action of counting himself for the purposes of quorum.
Justice Jones Dotse ruled that the Deputy Speaker of Parliament participation in voting was constitutional.
Earlier, Justice Abdulai subsequent to the November 30, 2021 clash between Speaker Bagbin and his First Deputy after the latter overturned an earlier vote of the House rejecting Government’s 2022 Budget invited the Supreme Court to pronounce as unconstitutional, Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu’s action of counting himself for the purposes of quorum.
He argued in the context of articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution that the Deputy Speaker was not permitted to count himself for the purposes of quorum, since he had neither an original nor a casting vote as Speaker presiding.
But the 7-member panel of justices ruled that the Member of Parliament for Bekwai exercised his right constitutionally.Statement-of-case-Justice-Abdulai-vs-The-Attorney-GeneralDownload
The SC struck out the standing order 109(3) which says a Deputy Speaker or any other member presiding shall not retain his original vote while presiding.
It furthered that the Deputy Speaker could be counted during the quorum for decision making according to article 104(1).
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana