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The Minority in Parliament has demanded the deferment of vetting for three Supreme Court nominees, arguing there is no urgent vacancy on the bench to justify rushing the process.
Speaking ahead of the vetting on Thursday, August 27, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the Supreme Court is currently operating with its full complement of justices and continues to hear cases and deliver judgments where necessary.
He questioned the urgency behind the nominations, noting that the three nominees are being proposed as additional justices rather than to fill existing vacancies.
"If there is no vacancy to fill, there is certainly no emergency compelling anyone to fill it inside three days. There is no fire here," he said.
The three Supreme Court nominees are Justice Sophia Bernasko-Essah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal; Justice Edward Amoako Asante, a Court of Appeal Justice and former President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice; and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jr, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association.
Afenyo-Markin argued that there was no urgency requiring the three nominees to be vetted and approved before Parliament's recall ends on Friday, 28 August.
"The Right Honourable Speaker referred five names to the Appointments Committee. Two nominees for ministerial office, three nominees for the Supreme Court of Ghana. That referral came on the very first day of this House, of this emergency recall," he said.
He said the Majority's push to have all five nominees vetted, reported on and approved before Parliament rises on Friday is what the Minority is opposing.
"The recall ends tomorrow, Friday. The Majority now want all five nominees vetted, reported on, and approved before the House rises. We say no, and we say it with the Constitution and our own Standing Orders in our hands," he said.
He argued that Parliament has sufficient time to vet the nominees, suggesting the relevant committee could conduct the exercise in September and submit its report when the House resumes in October. He also rejected suggestions that the ongoing judicial vacation had created an emergency, insisting the Supreme Court continues to sit and determine urgent matters.
The Minority Leader said the caucus would, however, support prompt vetting of the two ministerial nominees — Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga and Korle Klottey MP Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings — for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and Environment, Science and Technology, respectively.
