Supreme Court Judge, Justice Amadu Tanko, one of two judges to have dissented in the 5:2 majority decision in the case brought by Efutu MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin against the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has predicted that his majority colleagues' decision may not stand the test of time.
According to him, it may not be long when the decision is overturned. "I do not hasten to proclaim that, I have apprehended with despair the majority's conclusion in this suit but I state, with utmost deference to the Hon.
Chief Justice and the rest of my brethren in the majority that, not only do I fundamentally disagree with their conclusion, I, with all due respect, also find the decision an aberration to the established and accepted judicial position of this court which with profound respect, I hope in no distant future the resultant usurpation of the constitutional prerogative of the High Court incidental to the majority decision will be reversed." In his ruling rooted in a key constitutional interpretation, Justice Tanko emphasised that the Constitution itself places strict boundaries on the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, particularly regarding matters where the High Court has been expressly designated to make certain determinations.
Justice Tanko referenced Article 99 of Ghana's 1992 Constitution, which gives the High Court the exclusive authority to rule on whether a parliamentary seat is vacant.
