NDC Kicks Against Attempt to Pack the Supreme Court with NPP Loyalists.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is demanding an immediate halt of the appointment of five supreme court judges as requested by the Chief Justice.
Addressing a news conference in Accra on Thursday, the General Secretary of the Party Fifi Fiavi Kwetey said the request by the Chief Justice is an attempt by Akufo Addo and Bawumia to pack the Courts with NPP loyalists.
According to the firebrand General Secretary, the Chief Justice’s request is unconstitutional and without effect.
“Nowhere in the Constitution is the Chief Justice named as the one to recommend persons to the President for appointment to the Supreme Court”, Mr. Kwetey stressed.
Mr. Kwetey who demanded for adherence to constitutional processes, Judicial independence, transparency and accountability also praised the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) for rejecting Justice Torkonoo’s request.
He explained that in their letter, the Ghana Bar Association objected to the clandestine approach by President Akufo-Addo to appoint five additional judges to Ghana’s Supreme Court, thereby increasing the number of judges on the Supreme Court to 20.
“President Akufo-Addo with the connivance of the Chief Justice, had sought to hide his attempt to further pack the Supreme Court, under the guise of a proposal for a minimum ceiling of 20 judges on Ghana’s Supreme Court bench”, he said.
He added “the GBA’s disagreement, which we find well-grounded and well-reasoned, is premised on the fact that the President’s proposal should have come in the form of a proposed amendment of Article 128(1) of the 1992 Constitution, to set a new ceiling for the number of judges on the Supreme Court, which currently consists of the Chief Justice and a minimum of nine other Justices”
The GBA, according to Mr. Kwetey argued forcefully that the request by President Akufo-Addo and Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo to increase the minimum number of Justices of the Supreme Court to 20 will lead to the circumvention of the required constitutional amendments, hence their rejection of same.
He said the GBA instead proposed a review of the conventional number of Justices of the Supreme Court every ten years, calling for broader consultations with other key stakeholders such as the Council of State and Parliament.
He is therefore calling on Ghanaians to unite under a common cause to fight to preserve the integrity of our judiciary and the very soul of our democracy.
He added that
Ghana currently is at a cross roads and that the very pillars of our democracy are under siege by an administration that has shown a blatant disregard for the rule of law and the sanctity of our independent institutions.
Source:newsflashafrica.com