Supreme Court has upheld the suit filed by Alexander Afenyo-Markin, leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary caucus, challenging the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.
By a 5-2 majority decision on Tuesday, November 12, the apex court confirmed that Bagbin’s move to declare the seats vacant was improper.
The court stated that full reasons for its decision will be released on Wednesday, November 13.
Attorney-General Godfred Dame, speaking after the ruling, expressed confidence in the Speaker’s adherence to the decision.
“It is an emphatic determination of the matter by the court, and I expect the Speaker to comply. He is law-abiding; I have known him for a very long time, so I expect him to comply with the court decision. It was necessary that the Supreme Court came to this decision,” Dame told journalists. The court’s ruling follows an ex parte motion by Afenyo-Markin that led to a stay of execution on Bagbin’s initial declaration.
The controversy began on October 17, 2024, when Speaker Bagbin declared the four seats vacant, arguing that the members of Parliament had failed to meet constitutional requirements.
However, Afenyo-Markin swiftly challenged this decision, leading to a legal battle that saw Bagbin’s subsequent application to overturn the Supreme Court’s stay of execution being dismissed.
