Member of Parliament for the Asawase constituency and minority chief whip, Mubarak Muntaka has reacted to the Supreme Court judgement on the eligibility of the deputy speakers to vote while presiding.
A private citizen prayed the court for the interpretation of the constitutional provision for deputy speakers after a near fisticuffs broke in the chamber when the presiding 1st deputy speaker vacated his chair to be counted during the e-levy vote.
A 5-member panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse and including Nene Amegatcher, Prof. Ashie Kitey, Mariama Owusu, Lovelace Johnson, Clemence Honyenuga and Emmanuel Kulendi unanimously upheld that the 2022 budget passed is legal and constitutional.
The judgement also struck out order 109(3) of the standing orders of Parliament as unconstitutional, deputy speakers are entitled to be counted as an MP for a quorum and any member or deputy speaker presiding can vote and take part in the decision of Parliament.
Reacting to the judgement, the Asawase MP indicated that Parliament is a master of it's own rules and that it was problematic for an arm of government to declare a portion of the standing orders as unconstitutional.
Muntaka disclosed that Parliament was not part of the suit and so the minority will exhaust all avenues available in law. He explains the law gives room for a one month period where a review could be sort.
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