Lawyers representing the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, had requested that Justice Yao Gaewu recuse himself from a panel reviewing the Speaker’s decision to declare four parliamentary seats vacant. However, the Supreme Court has denied this application.
On Wednesday, October 30, the Speaker’s counsel Thaddeus Sory objected, stating that Justice Gaewu’s purported ties to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) may impact his neutrality in the case, since the NPP is involved in the proceedings.
Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo paused the hearing briefly to review the objection. Upon her return, she rejected the application, confirming that Justice Gaewu would continue serving on the panel.
Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame filed a motion asking the court to remove paragraphs 21 and 49 from the Speaker’s affidavit, which he deemed “scandalous” for containing inflammatory and irrelevant statements.
During the session, Joe Ghartey, standing in for NPP Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, was also prevented from giving an initial statement.
Ghartey was reprimanded by the court for allowing a junior counsel to open the defense, a breach of protocol in their eyes.
The court is scheduled to proceed with listening to arguments from both parties regarding the legality of the Speaker’s ruling on the four disputed seats.
