Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, has called on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to fully adhere to the Supreme Court's recent ruling, which overturned his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.

In a statement issued on October 31, Mr Amidu emphasized the Speaker's constitutional duty to respect the Supreme Court as the ultimate authority in disputes between the state and its citizens.

Mr Amidu expressed concern over the Speaker's actions, questioning why he would undermine the competence and integrity of Supreme Court justices, whom he himself approved for appointment, based on their past political affiliations.

“I found it interesting that in Ghana, the Speaker of Parliament with a well-known political affiliation who presided over the approval of members of the Supreme Court and recommended them for appointment will turn round to question the competence or integrity of any of the justices merely on the grounds of former political party affiliation without further proof of real likelihood of bias after the assumption of office of the justice.

"It is one thing criticizing the nomination of a person to the Supreme Court so that Parliament may consider the criticism in the approval process and another thing after Parliament has in a bipartisan manner approved and recommended the person for appointment and the appointment has been consummated to allege bias in a pending case without any shred of evidence,” he stated.

He further emphasized that once judicial appointments are made, the principle of impartiality must be upheld until proven otherwise.

“The Speaker has no authority to hold the nation to ransom by obstructing the functioning of the constitutional system or any of the arms of government during the pendency of a constitutional matter before the Supreme Court. The Speaker and Parliament have to learn to accept the decisions and orders of the Supreme Court they co-created with the Executive branch for Ghanaians in this epoch of the nation’s history.

"The wheels of government must move smoothly while the judiciary exercises the judicial power apportioned to it under the Constitution to resolve the pending constitutional impasse,” he stated.

Criticizing the Speaker's choice to address the Supreme Court through a letter rather than formal legal channels, Amidu referred to this as a "Kabuki dance."

He asserted that the Speaker does not possess the authority to disrupt government operations during an active Supreme Court case, as doing so would violate the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law.

“Between now and 7 December 2024, it is imperative that everything is done by the legislature and the executive branch particularly to lower political tensions and to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections instead of resorting to political party gamesmanship and point scoring which can be disastrous for the general wellbeing of the citizen and the survival of the 1992 Constitution from which all the arms of government derive their powers. The Speaker needs to show cognitive maturity now! Parliaments and Governments may come and go, but the Republic of Ghana shall always endure,” he stated.

Mr Amidu also called for both Parliament and the executive to focus on reducing political tensions, prioritizing national stability over partisan interests.

On the same day, the Supreme Court dismissed an application by Speaker Bagbin to reverse its previous decision that suspended his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.

This ruling followed a lawsuit filed by Effutu MP Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, which challenged the Speaker's declaration.

The Speaker’s legal team argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction, but after reviewing the arguments, the Court upheld its earlier ruling, with the Chief Justice remarking that "the grounds supporting the application have no merit."