The Supreme Court on March 9, 2022, will determine whether a Deputy Speaker of Parliament presiding over proceedings can vote or should be counted as part of a quorum.
This follows after there was a suit against the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu known as Joe Wise on November 30, 2021, during the voting on the E-Levy in parliament, counted himself as an MP when he presided over whiles Alban Bagbin was away which enabled the Majority in Parliament to form the right quorum under Article 104(1) in order to pass the budget.
The suit against Joe Wise:
Justice Abdulai, a lawyer and a law lecturer, who filed the suit, is now asking the Supreme Court to interpret Articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution and declare the action of Mr Osei Owusu as unconstitutional.
According to him, the 1992 Constitution does not allow a person presiding over proceedings in Parliament to have an original or casting vote, or to be part of a quorum which he supported his claims, with Article 102 of the 1992 Constitution which provides that “a quorum of Parliament, apart from the person presiding, shall be one-third of all Members of Parliament”, and Article 104 (1) which also states that matters in Parliament “shall be determined by votes of majority members present and voting, with at least half of all members of Parliament present.”
Again, he supported his case by citing Article 104 (2) of the 1992 Constitution which states that: “The Speaker shall have neither original nor casting vote.”
According to the lawyer, the First or Second Deputy Speakers of Parliament, when presiding, have the same authority and mandate just like the Right Honourable Speaker and therefore cannot vote or be part of the quorum.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General (A-G), Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, has reacted to his suit in a defence on behalf of the state saying that, there is no express provision in the 1992 Constitution that stops a Deputy Speaker presiding over proceedings from voting or counting himself as part of MPs present in order to form the right quorum.