Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed the belief that the ongoing impasse between Parliament and the Supreme Court of Ghana will help make our democracy stronger.
He argued that a parliament that reflects and embodies the will of the people while defending the constitution of the republic will benefit the people of Ghana.
He indicated that we must have a Parliament that works for the people and not a rubber stamp Parliament subservient to the whims and caprices of the Executive and/or the Judiciary.
Speaker Alban Bagbin addressed these issues when he engaged with the media on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
“I am confident the battles we are fighting today will make our democracy stronger and more vibrant in the future. I believe in the supremacy of the Constitution, mark my words, the supremacy of the Constitution, not the supremacy of the Judiciary or Supreme Court. I also believe in a vibrant Parliament that is respected and accorded its due on political questions as long established by law and decided cases.
A Parliament that understands, reflects, and embodies the will of the people and defends its constitutional prerogatives only works in the interest of Ghana and Ghanaians. Not a rubber stamp Parliament, subservient to the whims and caprices of the Executive and/or the Judiciary.”
He opined that “the public, media, civil society, and other partners in Governance can make constructive inputs and criticize actions and omissions of arms of government, but these bodies are not constitutionally and legally structured and mandated to hold the Executive to account. Parliament is elected, it is, at its best, the will of the people, legally and constitutionally structured and mandated to do so”.
He stated that his desire is the existence of a firm, effective, efficient and responsive Parliament, whose members place national and constituency interests ahead of narrow, partisan, or personal interests. Atlas, this is yet to materialize in Ghana.
In his view, “Parliament weakens itself when its members keep running to our courts to settle or seek favorable determinations of not just legal matters but essentially political and governance questions. It is my strong believe the matter before the Supreme Court can be settled within Parliament through matured deliberations and compromises. Please make no mistake; not all the strong men President Obama warned us about come in military uniforms. Some come dressed in suits. I hope, in my lifetime, Ghana shall have a Parliament and a Speaker who are truly independent from Jubilee/Flagstaff House, or any Headquarters in the conduct of Parliamentary business.
Let me state unequivocally: Parliament owes its duty to the people who established and elected its members to serve and represent them. The wheels of Parliament will continue to turn, and no person would be allowed to disrupt Parliamentary proceedings or to undermine the democratic mandate of Parliament.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
