Belief that parliament is autonomous is misplaced – Prof. Agyemang-Duah argues

Renowned governance expert Prof. Agyemang-Duah has criticized the common perception that Ghana’s Parliament operates with full independence, asserting that this view is fundamentally flawed.

His comments come after the Supreme Court of Ghana dismissed an application by Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, who sought to reverse a previous ruling that blocked his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.

Speaker Bagbin’s application aimed to nullify the Supreme Court’s decision that temporarily halted his ruling on the four seats, arguing that the court had overreached by suspending his ruling, which he insisted was a parliamentary decision outside the judicial remit.

Speaking on ABC in the Morning, the governance expert clarified that the role of the judiciary, in this case, was to ensure constitutional conformity, rather than to undermine parliamentary authority.

“I think what is at stake here, is whether these two very critical institutions of governance will come to some understanding.”

“Those who think the parliament is independent and can do it own thing is absolutely wrong in my view as a governance person.”

“The division of power, with the checks and balances amongst the three arms of government tells us that these are three independent institution but each has the right to check and balance power amongst themselves.

He further emphasized that Parliament operates within constitutional checks and balances, contrary to the widespread notion that it wields absolute independence.