Azar, I was unaware of your previous case at the Supreme until this morning. I agree with you that the practice of either the VP or Speaker acting as President whenever the President is or both are out of the country is now i ... read full comment
Azar, I was unaware of your previous case at the Supreme until this morning. I agree with you that the practice of either the VP or Speaker acting as President whenever the President is or both are out of the country is now irrelevant because of improved IT. However, since the Supreme Court ruled against you, what happened on November 5 is a serious breach by the Chief Justice and the Speaker.
Daniel Korang of the Ghana Law School posted article on the same subject yesterday but unfortunately he did not provide any evidence (customary practice) as to what has been happening under the 4th Republic. If on previous occasions any time the President and the Vice were out of the country, previous Speakers took the oath on each occasion and on more then once by one Speaker in one parliamentary term, then this matter becomes very serious and dangerous.
According to media reports, the Speaker, Chief Justice, Majority and Minority Leaders had discussions and agreed that the oath he took in September 2013 was still valid and therefore not necessary to retake the oath. If this is accurate then Ghana is sleep walking into a constitutional crisis because the Chief Justice and the leadership of the Legislature cannot interpret the Constitution. In fact, the Chief Justice on her own cannot interpret the constitution. That is the role of a properly constituted panel of the Justices of the Supreme Court.
Ghana is becoming a joke as the leadership do not take theses matter serious and one day a very dangerous constitutional crisis will develop out of such lapses that are taken for granted.
Kwaku Azar 9 years ago
Kofi Ata:
We are playing with fire. I made these arguments in 2002 but they did not listen.
Kofi Ata:
We are playing with fire. I made these arguments in 2002 but they did not listen.
NARROW INTERPRETATIONS 9 years ago
The fact that both the President and Veep are outside does no mean they cant exercise their duties---- to the extent that Speaker has to take over. It is a narrow interpretation of the law to say if someone is absent from Gha ... read full comment
The fact that both the President and Veep are outside does no mean they cant exercise their duties---- to the extent that Speaker has to take over. It is a narrow interpretation of the law to say if someone is absent from Ghana then he cant perform his duties.
KOFI ELLISON 9 years ago
Correct.
Our dear country has become a total joke.
"Unable" in the context used in the Constitution conveys a situation of death or physical incapacitation; in which cases the president or his vice can be deemed to be ... read full comment
Correct.
Our dear country has become a total joke.
"Unable" in the context used in the Constitution conveys a situation of death or physical incapacitation; in which cases the president or his vice can be deemed to be 'unable' to perform the duties and functions expected of them.
Of course, when the president is in Wagadugu; he is there as the PRESIDENT of Ghana, performing a duty as the president of Ghana. Ditto the vice president. His mere absence from the country, ought not become an issue at all.
Perhaps the next time both are outside the country, the so-called acting president should call the host country to remind the host, the acting president would be visiting as well, as the real stand-in president!!!
(I am Kofi Ellison, and I approve this message.)
Ozigzim 9 years ago
... The president and his vice should tell the nation why they left Ghana at the same time.
Who plans their schedules, and do they communicate about pending travels?
Let them cite examples of nations where the president ... read full comment
... The president and his vice should tell the nation why they left Ghana at the same time.
Who plans their schedules, and do they communicate about pending travels?
Let them cite examples of nations where the president and his vice both leave town to go abroad.
Owusu Yioe 9 years ago
Yes indeed it is this same mentality that informs most of the decisions and have made us poor today. It was this same woman including others of her kind who decided to fail law students at an interview for the law school whi ... read full comment
Yes indeed it is this same mentality that informs most of the decisions and have made us poor today. It was this same woman including others of her kind who decided to fail law students at an interview for the law school which did not even last up two minutes after the students spent four years to acquire LLB and on top of that pass an entrance exam which in her time did not do.may God bless Ghana.
Bonsu 9 years ago
The argument has been advanced as to whether there is an automaticity of the role of the speaker in the absence of both the president and his vice. Some believe that once the oath had been administered before, it should compl ... read full comment
The argument has been advanced as to whether there is an automaticity of the role of the speaker in the absence of both the president and his vice. Some believe that once the oath had been administered before, it should comply with the constitutional requirement that the speaker must take the presidential oath before stepping into his shoes so there is no need administering that oath any time the position becomes vacant.
Some also believe that except the president and the vice are incapacitated where ever they are they are still in office and therefore there is no need to swear in another president but the speaker automatically steps in to deputize.
The confusion in parliament between the CJ and the speaker where it was alleged that it was the CJ who did not administer the oath because in her opinion it was not required, seem to indicate the thinking of the court when it comes to clarifying the constitutional lacuna.
Most of these problems are a result of bad constitutional drafting and the CRC which SK Asare is against must address them in their proposals before it gets to parliament to initiate a debate and then follow the constitutional due process. Meanwhile the SC must gird itself to clarifying some of these issues.
The Asare v Attorney General ruling [2003-4] SCGLR 823, where the Supreme Court held that “the purposive interpretation to be given to Article 60(11) is that where both the President and the Vice-President are absent from Ghana, they are to be regarded as unable to perform the functions of the President and thus the Speaker is obliged to perform those functions.” did not answer the question as to whether the speaker must take the oath any-time the position is vacant.
I believe that the CJ must have consulted with her colleagues in the SC before coming to the decision she came to. The last point of contention is the scope of the acting President’s powers which to me is not properly defined. Lets take the Kenya constitution as an example and see what the job description of the acting president is,what they can do and what they can not do.
Under the Kenya Constitution Article 147(3) of the Kenyan Constitution say that when the President is absent from Kenya, or when he is temporarily incapacitated, the deputy shall act as President. This provision ensures that there is no vacuum.
However, the law spells out specific functions that the acting president cannot do under an acting role. Under Article 134, he cannot appoint judges or any other public officers who are appointed by the President, he cannot appoint or dismiss Cabinet Secretaries or other State officers; he cannot appoint or dismiss high commissioners, ambassadors, diplomatic or consular representatives.
He cannot also exercise the power of mercy which is a preserve of the President and cannot confer honours to individuals in the name of the republic.
Otherwise he can exercise all other functions of the president.What does our constitution say on this.
Densu 9 years ago
quote: ... when the President is absent from Kenya, or when he is temporarily incapacitated, the deputy shall act as President.
So who is the "deputy"?
quote: ... when the President is absent from Kenya, or when he is temporarily incapacitated, the deputy shall act as President.
So who is the "deputy"?
Bonsu 9 years ago
Who ever acts that is the vice president or the speaker in that order
Who ever acts that is the vice president or the speaker in that order
Azar, I was unaware of your previous case at the Supreme until this morning. I agree with you that the practice of either the VP or Speaker acting as President whenever the President is or both are out of the country is now i ...
read full comment
Kofi Ata:
We are playing with fire. I made these arguments in 2002 but they did not listen.
The fact that both the President and Veep are outside does no mean they cant exercise their duties---- to the extent that Speaker has to take over. It is a narrow interpretation of the law to say if someone is absent from Gha ...
read full comment
Correct.
Our dear country has become a total joke.
"Unable" in the context used in the Constitution conveys a situation of death or physical incapacitation; in which cases the president or his vice can be deemed to be ...
read full comment
... The president and his vice should tell the nation why they left Ghana at the same time.
Who plans their schedules, and do they communicate about pending travels?
Let them cite examples of nations where the president ...
read full comment
Yes indeed it is this same mentality that informs most of the decisions and have made us poor today. It was this same woman including others of her kind who decided to fail law students at an interview for the law school whi ...
read full comment
The argument has been advanced as to whether there is an automaticity of the role of the speaker in the absence of both the president and his vice. Some believe that once the oath had been administered before, it should compl ...
read full comment
quote: ... when the President is absent from Kenya, or when he is temporarily incapacitated, the deputy shall act as President.
So who is the "deputy"?
Who ever acts that is the vice president or the speaker in that order