The Supreme Court of Ghana has issued a stay of execution on Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant. This decision temporarily halts the enforcement of the Speaker’s ruling, allowing the affected Members of Parliament (MPs) to continue representing their constituencies.
Following the Supreme Court’s directive, Parliament has been instructed to fully recognize the four MPs and permit them to carry out their official duties until a final ruling is made by the Court. This stay will remain in place until the Supreme Court delivers its final judgment on the case, not for the 10 days initially requested by the applicants.
The application to halt the Speaker’s decision was filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs, seeking judicial intervention to prevent the enforcement of the ruling. The Speaker’s decision, if enforced, would have affected three NPP MPs and one MP from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Notably, the application was filed ex parte, meaning that neither Speaker Alban Bagbin nor Parliament was joined as a party to the case.