Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has declared that the Minority Caucus will firmly oppose the Majority’s decision to rush the vetting of five Supreme Court nominees within a three-day window.
The Member of Parliament for Effutu revealed that following the announcement of the nominees on the floor of Parliament, the Majority is pushing to complete the entire vetting, reporting, and approval process before the House rises.
”We say no, and we say it with the Constitution and our own Standing Orders in our hands,” Afenyo-Markin stated, emphasizing that the Minority’s stance is a non-partisan defense of the Ghanaian people rather than a political maneuver. He stressed that adequate public notice is essential to allow citizens to participate meaningfully in the vetting process.
The Minority Leader warned that expediting the proceedings risks inflicting long-term damage on the judicial system and casting a permanent shadow over the nominees’ legitimacy.
”Every ruling that these Justices will ever make will be met by the question: Were you properly vetted? Were you installed in a hurry to suit one government’s convenience? That question will follow every judgment they sign for the rest of their career,” he cautioned.
Highlighting parliamentary precedent, Afenyo-Markin noted that since 1992, Supreme Court nominations have consistently adhered to a minimum two-week public notice period to ensure thorough scrutiny.
He criticized the NDC for using its numerical advantage to bypass established practice, marking the first time in the Fourth Republic that judicial nominees face a compressed three-day timeline.
Eugenia Ewoenam Osei
