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Attempts to remove Chief Justice premeditated – Oppong Nkrumah
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Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase Ayirebi and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has described the ongoing processes to remove the Chief Justice as political and pre-planned.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, May 29, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Chief Justice would defend herself but stressed that the whole issue was more political than legal.
“I think for her, she will fight for her rights in the ongoing process. But I think any honest person knows that what is going on is politics and not law,” he said.
He criticised those who claim the process is simply a constitutional one under Articles 146 or 147.
“Anybody who says that this is Article 146 or 147 is either complicit in it or is being naive. Everybody knows what is going on is politics,” he maintained.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah stated that the plan to remove the Chief Justice was not only political but also deliberately laid out ahead of time.
“This was premeditated, this was preannounced, this was preadvertised,” he argued.
He pointed to public comments made by now President John Mahama when he was in opposition, suggesting the NDC planned to change the judiciary’s composition.
“There are clips of now-President Mahama announcing that they have a plan to appoint more NDC persons onto the benches. He announced clearly that they were of the view that the benches were not favourable to them,” he said.
He also claimed that members of the then-opposition party openly attacked the judiciary.
“They bastardised the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court extensively when they were in opposition,” he added.
Referring to the 2020 election petition, Mr Oppong Nkrumah recalled being part of the NPP’s legal team and witnessing public attempts to discredit the Chief Justice.
“I was part of our legal team when we were going through the last election petition. You see all the remarks that are made about her on social media, calling her all sorts of names and trying very hard to link her to the NPP,” he said.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah believes the motive behind the removal attempt was clear from the beginning.
“And so the intention was clear in the issue. If that had not been the case, then people could actually believe that there is an innocuous constitutional process going on,” he said.
Wrapping up, Mr Oppong Nkrumah warned that the legal procedures are only being used to mask a political mission.
“What is going on is a pre-advertised, pre-orchestrated, pre-planned exercise now using the legal processes as a cover, and I don’t think anybody is fooled by that, but what I will say to that is that the consequences of our actions are ahead of us,” he added.
Source:myjoyonline.com
The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has questioned who will bear the cost of conducting presidential and parliamentary primaries following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s delegate system.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Nimako Marfo said he would not immediately comment on the ruling, adding that he wanted to wait for the full details before sharing his views.
“I don’t want to comment on it now. Let’s wait,” he said.
When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision that all members in good standing should vote in party elections, he shifted attention to the financial implications of implementing the ruling.
According to him, allowing all members in good standing to vote would increase the cost of organising internal party elections.
He questioned who would pay for the expanded electoral process.
“Who is going to pay for the cost of the elections?” he asked.
When a journalist suggested that political parties would bear the cost, Mr. Nimako Marfo replied, “Let’s wait and see.”
The comments come after the Supreme Court ruled that political parties should allow all members in good standing to vote in their internal elections, a decision that is expected to expand participation but also increase the financial and logistical demands of organising presidential and parliamentary primaries.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Supreme Court of Ghana has declared the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional.
In a 5-2 majority decision delivered, the Court ruled that the long-standing system violates democratic principles and ordered all political parties to ensure every registered, card-bearing member participates in presidential and parliamentary primaries.
The ruling brings to an end decades of internal party elections conducted by a limited number of delegates.
The suit was filed by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng; veteran politician Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe; and former Minister for Lands and Forestry, Dr. Christine Amoako-Nuamah.
The plaintiffs argued that the delegate system created inequality among party members by granting voting rights to a privileged minority while excluding ordinary members in good standing.
They told the Court that restricting voting rights to delegates was inconsistent with the democratic principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
The Attorney-General’s Department supported the suit and urged the Court to adopt a “one member, one vote” approach.
In its submission, the State argued that political parties perform an important public function in Ghana’s democratic framework and that their internal electoral processes must reflect constitutional values of equality, participation and universal suffrage.
The Attorney-General further submitted that expanding voting rights to all registered members would strengthen accountability and deepen internal democracy within political parties.
The judgment means that going forward, presidential and parliamentary candidates will be selected by all registered members of a political party, instead of by delegates alone.
Political parties are expected to review their constitutions and structures to comply with the Court’s directive ahead of the 2028 general elections.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
