The Minority Caucus in Parliament on Thursday, August 27, staged a walkout during the scheduled vetting of the Supreme Court judges' nominees.

They cited a rushed process in the vetting of the three Supreme Court nominees, objecting to what it describes as an unnecessarily compressed timetable. Addressing what may seem as a political stance, the Minority Leader Afenyo-Markin indicated that currently there is no sense of urgency, as there is no vacancy at the Supreme Court.

“No vacancy, no urgency, Chairman; the Supreme Court of Ghana presently sits with its full complement of justices. No seat on the bench is vacant. The three persons before this committee are nominated to add to the existing membership of the court, not to fill any gap left by death, retirement or removal.”

The Minority leader cited what he described as due process” that is rooted in Parliament’s Standing Orders and constitutional practice. Under normal procedure, once nominees for the Supreme Court are laid before Parliament, the Appointments Committee is given 14 clear days to study the documents, invite public memoranda, and prepare for vetting. This, he said, is to ensure transparency.

“We say no, because the people of Ghana must participate in the process. Our stance is not a partisan stance. It is a stance for the people of Ghana. This is not an objection to the principle of vetting. It is not an objection to the nominees as individuals. It is an objection grounded in the Constitution, the 1992 Constitution and the standing orders of Parliament.”

“These nominations came to the House on Monday. Let us reason together and let us be seen as being consistent with our political views. If you want to follow the precedent, please suspend today’s sitting, properly put out the advert as you requested when you were in opposition, and let us wait for the 14 days,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

However, Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, dismissed the objection, describing the grounds raised by the Minority as “flimsy”, “hollow” and “baseless”.

He said any member dissatisfied with a decision of the House must use the procedures provided under Parliament’s Standing Orders to seek a reversal.

“If you are aggrieved by the decision of the House, the method available for you to reverse that decision is contained in our own Standing Orders,” Mr Ahiafor said.

“I will not preside over this committee and purport to vary the orders or directions or decision taken at the plenary by the entire House,” he said.

“It is not done in any democracy, and I will not be the first to introduce it in Ghana’s democracy.”

Mr Ahiafor also rejected suggestions that the committee should treat the Supreme Court nominees differently from other nominees appearing before it.

Following the chairman’s decision, the Minority, led by Mr Afenyo-Markin, walked out of the vetting.

The three 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.