The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has revealed that Parliament intends to seek legal interpretation following President Akufo-Addo's decision to withhold assent from certain bills passed by the House.
Last year, President Akufo-Addo declined to sign the Criminal Offences Bill of 2022, the Witchcraft Bill, and the Armed Forces Bill of 2023, citing financial implications as the rationale for his refusal.
Speaker Bagbin has announced Parliament's plan to take the matter to court for interpretation, expressing disagreement with the president's decision.
He assured that despite their differences, he would maintain communication with President Akufo-Addo.
Speaker Bagbin stated: “I have given notice that we will be in court about this matter.”
He emphasised that the constitutionality of the bills is not within the president's authority to determine, asserting that such matters fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Speaker Bagbin insisted that any allegations of misuse should be contested by the Supreme Court and not unilaterally decided by the president.
President Akufo-Addo had cited financial burdens associated with the bills as the reason for his refusal to sign, singling out the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill sponsored by Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu.
In an official response to the president, Speaker Bagbin stressed: “The determination of any unconstitutionality is the sole purview of the Supreme Court, not the President.”
He further indicated that if concerns existed about Parliament exceeding its constitutional authority, the appropriate course of action would be to bring the matter before the Supreme Court rather than making an executive declaration of unconstitutionality.
“Again, the constitutional discretion vested in the presiding officer of Parliament, as per Article 108 and subject to Article 296, suggests that any allegations of misuse of this discretion should be contested in a court of competent jurisdiction, rather than being pre-emptively adjudicated upon by the President,” the Speaker added.