The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has issued a strong warning about what he describes as a coordinated effort by the country’s Executive and Judiciary to diminish Parliament’s authority.

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, 6 November 2024, Speaker Bagbin highlighted his concerns over a perceived weakening of the legislative arm, particularly following the Supreme Court’s intervention in his decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant.

“The Executive and the Judiciary are seemingly colluding to weaken Parliament,” Speaker Bagbin asserted.

His comments follow a Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday, 30 October 2024, which stayed the Speaker’s declaration of the four seats as vacant, a decision that has fueled tension between the judicial and legislative branches.

Speaker Bagbin rejected claims that Ghana is facing a constitutional crisis, assuring the public that Parliament remains fully operational.

“There is no constitutional crisis in this country. The Parliament of Ghana is alive and working; let nobody mislead, misinform, or disinform you and the country. Democracy is about the rule of law, let the law work,” he emphasised.

The controversy began after New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin filed a motion to prevent Speaker Bagbin from ruling on the vacant seats, an action upheld by the Supreme Court, which stayed the Speaker’s declaration.

In response, Speaker Bagbin’s legal team argued that the Court had overstepped its authority, asserting that the judiciary’s power to stay rulings applies only to judicial bodies, not to decisions of Parliament, a separate arm of government.

“The Supreme Court’s powers under the 1992 Constitution… to stay execution of rulings are limited to rulings of itself and of courts lower in the judicial hierarchy.

  “But do not extend to a ruling of the Speaker of Parliament who is not part of the judicial hierarchy.”

Speaker Bagbin has since petitioned the court to rescind its stay and dismiss Afenyo-Markin’s writ, which seeks to block any further parliamentary action on the four seats.

He argued that such interference in parliamentary decisions threatens the independence of Ghana’s legislature.