The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has told Parliament to act in defence of any action that threatens Ghana’s democracy.
He described the suspension of the Chief Justice and the petitions against her as an attempt to undermine Ghana’s democracy, an action he said must be resisted.
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“We cannot allow institutions of state to be undermined under the guise of accountability. Parliament must act as the last line of defence for our democracy,” he said after reading the coalition of political parties to present a petition against the suspension of the Chief Justice to Parliament in Accra on Monday.
The coalition subsequently presented another petition on the same subject matter to the presidency.
Afenyo-Markin said at the forecourt of the Jubilee House that “The judiciary is our last hope, and we believe that what is happening undermines our democracy. For the Chief Justice to be singled out for this unfortunate attack, a flimsy pedestrian petition.
“The Council of State has failed the government, and we want you as an institution to put aside your individual differences and know that it is your institution that is under attack.
“Maybe today it is Torkonoo, tomorrow it may be you. You don’t serve at the whims and caprices of a political party and a government,” he said after leading the coalition of political parties to demonstrate and present a petition to the president against the suspension of the Chief Justice.
For his part, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Stan Dogbe, who received the petition from the protesters, told the coalition of political parties that the process to handle the matter is constitutional.
He said no violation of the law has happened in the process.
Speaking after receiving the petition from the protesters led by the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, at the forecourt of the Jubilee House in Accra on Monday, May 5, he said “We are happy that your process started this morning and ended very peacefully. That in itself is a very strong message about the democracy that President Mahama wants to instil.
“If it were the case, like over the past 8 years, I am sure that the retaliatory politics that we talk about wouldn’t have been the case. Your referencing retaliatory politics is an admission that the 8 years of President Akufo-Addo were not the best.
“You are assured that President Mahama, as every Ghanaian knows, is not one of those politicians; he doesn’t believe in retaliatory Politics. He is described as too much father for all persons. Whatever decisions that are being taken now are in line with our 1992 Constitution.”
“The process that is ongoing is constitutional,” he added.
According to the organizers, the suspension of the Chief Justice and the petitions against her are politically motivated and constitute an attack on judicial independence.
The Director of Communications of the NPP, Richard Ahiagbah, stated in a post on his X page: “Save the judiciary from President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC’s attacks. This is the Article 21 Demo.
“It is about the survival of the rule of law and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press and other media. The media must recognize that its survival is linked to this cause.”
President John Mahama received flak for the suspension of the Chief Justice from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).
The GBA described the action of the President as unconstitutional due to the absence of legal backing for the exercise of presidential discretion.
The GBA had said that any discretionary powers exercised under Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution must be regulated by law to prevent abuse and ensure transparency.
“Subject to exercise discretion under article 296, they ought to have been made regulations like a constitutional instrument before exercising such discretion because the essence is to govern, how it is exercised so that it doesn’t get abused,” the Public Relations Officer of the GBA, Saviour Kudze, explained.
He added that members of the GBA, during a meeting held on Saturday, April 26, were unanimous in their view that the President had acted outside the bounds of the Constitution.
“That is all we are saying, that in the absence of that regulation, the membership at the meeting on Saturday were of the view that the President had not done well because he had acted unconstitutionally because no constitutional instrument had been passed before he exercised the discretion,” Kudze stated.
This strong stance follows an official GBA statement dated April 26, in which the Association called for the immediate reversal of the Chief Justice’s suspension.
