The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an application by the Speaker of Parliament asking the court to vacate its ruling that hold the Speaker’s declaration of four seats in Parliament vacant.
In its ruling, a five-member panel of the court held that the Speaker’s application amounted to a “misinformation and misapprehension of the law.”
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin had asked the court to vacate its ruling that held the Speaker’s declaration of four seats in Parliament vacant.
According to the court, the Speaker’s submission that the court had no jurisdiction in the matter was misconceived because the matter in question was a clear case of constitutional interpretation.
Earlier Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General and Thaddeus Sory, the lawyer for the Speaker of Parliament made their submissions before the court.

But in her ruling, the Chief Justice explained, “Given the irreparable harm that could be caused to the constituencies—comprising hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians—who would be left without MPs and without the possibility of by-elections, as well as the irreversible impact on MPs potentially losing their seats just weeks before the December 7 election, this court must address this dispute promptly rather than issuing a 10-day interim order on Article 97(1)(g) as interpreted by the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has set aside November 11 to deliver its ruling in the substantive suit brought before it by the Majority Leader, Victor Afenyo-Markin against the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney-General.
Mr Afenyo-Markin filed a writ seeking a proper interpretation of Article 97 of the 1992 constitution, following the Speaker’s declaration of four parliamentary seats vacant.
The Majority Leader is also seeking the Supreme Court to restrain Parliament from acting on the eligibility of four MPs.