Attorney General Godfred Dame has said, he thinks the reasoning by the Supreme Court is clearly sound and is in accord with the practice in other jurisdictions around the world.
According to Mr. Dame, “Nowhere in the Constitution has any statement been made that whenever a deputy speaker presides, he loses his right to vote”, the Minister of Justice said.
“All the circumstances under which a Member of Parliament loses his right to vote have actually been spelled out in Article 104,” He stressed.
The decision comes after a lawyer, who is also a law lecturer, Justice Abdulai, petitioned the court to declare as unconstitutional, First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu’s action of counting himself as one of the MPs on the floor even while presiding over the proceedings of the house in relation to the formation of a quorum for the passage of the 2022 budget which had earlier been rejected and thrown out by the minority side.
Justice Abdulai was of the view that once a deputy speaker, who is an MP presides in the stead of the Speaker, he loses his right to vote.
The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively means either of the two deputy Speakers can vote while presiding over the house.
Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana
