Why is it that anytime court rulings go against the National Democratic Congress (NDC), it creates chaos in this country, making the judges look as if they do not know about the law and only always doing the biddings of the NPP? NDC lawyers will come and interpret the law in a way to convince Ghanaians that they are the best legal practitioners when in actual fact they are not.
Whenever a judgment is passed against the NPP, the NDC would in a hurry, sing praises of the courts to the highest heavens. But when that same judgment is later passed against it, this political party will raise hell and make it to be seen as if war is looming in this country.
The earlier the NDC is advised to become good losers for the sake unity in this country, the better.
In December 1993, the constitutionally elected NDC, had wanted to celebrate the December 31 Revolution with all its pomp and pageantry as it had been celebrating since 1982. This revolution was about the unconstitutional overthrow of a popularly elected government on December 31, 1981. Any toddler will tell you that it is simply not right. It is like the West demanding that the UN adopts a day when slave trade will be celebrated across the world.
The opposition NPP took this to the Supreme Court for interpretation and had judgment in its favour. 31 December Revolution was not to be celebrated in Ghana, under a constitutional era.
Ghanaians can remember the irresponsible response by the NDC and like organising a pork show in a Muslim community, Rawlings celebrated the event anyway, with one of his henchmen, Sgt. Major W.O. I Frimpong aka Red Light openly saying at the El Wak stadium, that “if there is freedom of speech, then there should be freedom of assassination.” Rawlings laughed with contentment while the whole grounds was erupted into joy.
Rawlings and the NDC defied the law and celebrated what it frowns upon, clearly indicating that they are the Law and not the Constitution. That day there was a grand parade on the principal streets of Accra to the El-Wak stadium where lawlessness and stupidity were celebrated and climaxed.
In July 2012, the NPP MP for Bawku Central, Adamu Daramani Sakande, was convicted and jailed over the issue of dual citizenship. At the time of filing his papers to contest the 2008 elections he had not denounced his UK citizenship. The NPP accepted the court ruling, knowing that Hon. Sakande broke the law.
Going into the 2020 Parliamentary elections, NDC’s James Gyekye Quayson filed his papers to contest the Assin North seat, without first denouncing his Canadian citizenship. He won the elections and this was contested in court. The NDC grew wild and supported the MP saying he denounced his citizenship after the submission of forms and before the elections, so he committed no crime.
It just made no sense. Explaining this issue in plan language, is like someone being called to an interview for a job. Among the requirements, is a proof of academic qualification, meaning a certificate to show he successfully completed some courses of study. Unfortunately, this fellow just finished his exams and was awaiting results, so he had no certificate to produce. Can he be accepted for the position he was seeking? Of course not. Others who have proof of that level of education would be accepted for the next stage and that is during the short listing.
At the time of their interviews, that is submission of forms, Sakande and Quayson had not denounce the foreign citizenship, so they had no business of presenting themselves to be considered to contest the elections.
Sakande of the NPP, was jailed, where he got ill and died later when he was out of jail. However, and perhaps to calm down the chaos the NDC was brewing, the Supreme Court, declared the Assin North seat vacant and James Quayson, who should have been in jail, was allowed to contest again.
And Ghanaians sat down and allowed the NDC to interpret the law to suit its parochialinterests.
In August 2013, during the historic verdict of the Supreme Court on the Election Petition of the flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, the lead judge, Justice Atuguba, in pronouncing judgment, first made a statement to imply that since no where in Africa has election petition gone against the ruling government it can never happen in Ghana.
Then, as if to say that he had prepared the judgment long before the case came to court, ala kangaroo court style, he politely set aside the violation of Art. 49 (3) by thousands of presiding officers, which mandated them to sign the declaration of results before announcing it at the poling stations, but which they failed to do so. And he went ahead to give the verdict, and stole the victory in court from the NPP and awarded it to the NDC.
Ghana did not erupt into chaos and conflicts, since the NPP accepted the Supreme Court decision, even though it never agreed with it.
In 2020, six new regions were created from existing ones and there was a referendum in the affected areas to determine whether the people approve of the declaration of the new regions.
The Volta region was among those to be split, and its northern part to be called Oti region. The NDC and the larger Ewe community were not happy at all. Nonetheless, the referendum went on, as planned.
After the referendum, some leading chiefs from Akpafu and Lolobiin the now Guan district took the matter to court. They wanted Guan to remain under the Hohoe municipality and therefore under the Vokta region.
With the matter in court, the president could not create the district. It was after the court ruling which went in favour of government that the Guan district was created when the Legislative Instrument came into force on November 9, 2024, the day Parliament rose and the House could not assemble until December 14, 2020 after the elections were over.
So, there was no way the people of Guan could have voted for an MP, since the EC could not create the constituency. And since constituencies cannot be created during the term of Parliament, nothing could be done, until Elections 2024.
To this day, even well seasoned NDC lawyers who know the law and other members of that party are up and about their propaganda worst, spreading falsehood that government and the EC had disenfranchised the people of Guan.
The NDC who is always up in arms against government and the EC, in what it believes to bedenyingthe people of Guan, their voice in the House, is today fully in support of the removal of four sitting MPs who are alleged to have violated Art. 97 (1g and 1h), to deny their constituents their voices in Parliament.
It is on record that in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012, some sitting MPs contested the next elections under different tickets than what brought them to the House. No NDC member drew the attention of the Speaker to the violation of the Constitution.
In 2020, the NPP wrote to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mike Ocquaye that its MP for Fomena, Hon Andrew Asiamah Amoako, had violated Art. 3 of the party’s constitution, under Forfeiture of Membership, so he ceased to be a member of the party, and the Speaker should make him vacate his seat, which was done.
Drawing on this and with the hope of becoming majority in Parliament, the NDC drew the attention of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, that Art. 97 (1g & 1h) had been violated by four sitting MPs, three from the majority side and one from the minority. The Speaker made that pronouncement and the majority leader, Hon. Afenyo-Markins rushed to the Supreme Court for interpretation. The court pronounced stay of execution for it to determine the case and come out with its ruling.
The NDC as usual took up arms and started creating confusion in the minds of the ordinary Ghanaian and virtually calling for conflict, stating that Executive and the Judiciary had colluded to rule the Legislature.
The Supreme Court came out with a 5-2 verdict, explaining that there was deeper meaning to that simple English statement written on Art. 97 (1g & 1h), and demonstrated clearly that until an MP pronounces that he is no longer on the ticket he came to the House with and chooses to take up another ticket, he or she cannot be made to vacate his seat if he decides to run on a different ticket in the coming elections.
The NDC flatly refused to start a revision course in English, to understand the Constitution, but rather raised the tempo of confusion, indirectly reminding Ghanaians that it is only when court verdicts go in its favour that justice should be said to be done. But hell must break loose if it loses a case in court.
NDC’s perceptions about laws in Ghana is very disturbing. Being the direct descendant of the PNDC which killed three judges who ruled against some decisions of Rawlings and his AFRC, it is very obvious that the NDC always wants to bully today’s judges, indirectly reminding them that what happened to the judges in 1982, could happen to them, if they rule against its interest in cases before the court. Can we call this Fourth Republic, one guided by the principle of rule of law?
It is about time, Ghanaians rise up and protect the Constitution, which I will always admit is full of confusion, until it is either completely replaced or properly amended.
The NDC cannot decide what the courts should say in cases before them.
By Hon. Daniel Dugan
