Former President John Dramani Mahama has for the third time lashed out at the judgement of the Supreme Court over the rights of Deputy Speakers to vote while they preside over sittings in Parliament.
Citing the example of a voice vote, Mr Mahama wonders how a presiding officer can be impartial when he is to join in saying ‘Ay’ or ‘No’.
“What is the determination of the SC?” he wondered in a Facebook post on Sunday, March 13.
“That Deputy speakers can shout aye or nay with the side they agree or disagree with in the voice vote? The SC is leading us into the realm of absurdity!”
This is the third time the former president is taking a bite on Wednesday’s judgement, which has since divided opinion apparently on partisan lines.
The three-time leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) first indicated the judgement was “an unfortunate interpretation for convenience that set a dangerous precedent of judicial interference in Parliamentary procedure for the future”.
He later had a second bite into the judgement, which was delivered by a 7-0 unanimous decision in a court presided over by Justice Jones Dotse.
“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.”
