John Dramani Mahama is on the neck of the Supreme Court again based on the ruling on Wednesday 2022.
He tweeted on thursday saying that,”If Deputy Speakers, because they are Members of Parliament, can vote while presiding as Speaker, they could as well be able to participate in any debate on the floor over which they are presiding. This is the absurdity into which the Supreme Court ruling leads us”.
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The former President seems unhappy because this tweet adds to his earlier statement that the 7-0 ruling is a dangerous attack on the independence of the legislative arm of government which may in the near future trigger an unprecedented impact in the deliberation process in parliament.
he Supreme Court, presided over by Justice Jones Dotse, dismissed a suit brought before it by law lecturer Justice Abdulai, who sought interpretation on articles 104 and 109 of the Constitution after a strange move by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei Owusu in December last year to vote as Member for Bekwai while sitting in the chair of the Speaker of Parliament.
By a 7-0 unanimous decision, the Court said Mr Osei-Owusu exercised his right constitutionally.
It also struck out 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 can be counted during the quorum for decision making according to Article 104(1).
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