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Senior Psychologist, Professor Joseph Osafo, has bemoaned the character of some Parliamentarians in the country.

Prof. Joseph Osafo, commenting on the Supreme Court ruling in relation to Deputy Speakers in Parliament's right to vote or be counted as Members of Parliament, warned the House against the use of rude and uncouth language.

His comment comes on the heels of Speaker Alban Bagbin's reply to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's position on the court ruling.

President's Stance 

President Nana Addo, siding with the Supreme Court, explained ''our Speaker is expressly not a member of the Assembly, that's why he doesn't have the right to vote. In fact, he is really not even to participate in the deliberations of the House. He is the referee making sure that the debate is conducted properly and the rules of procedure or the orders of the House are complied with. That's his role''.

He expounded; ''That is not the case with the Deputy of Speaker and that matter is transparent on the face of our constitution. Indeed, even the Presiding members of our district Assemblies, they have the right to vote. Look at the district Assembly law because they are members of the Assembly and once you are a member of the Assembly, you are representing certain constituencies.''

''The legislative power of Parliament [that is vested] that is of the State which is vested in Parliament is subject to the provisions of the constitution. All organs of the Ghanaian State including me as the Head of Executive, we are all subject to the teachings of the constitution. There is nobody in the Ghanaian State that is above the fundamental law of the land," he added.

Speaker Rebukes Prez

In response, the Speaker said; ''Good morning comrades. I have resisted the temptation of making a comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court on the issue of the voting rights of Deputy Speakers when presiding. But the unfortunate and myopic comment of the President has compelled me to let it out. The SC decision, is to say the least, not only an absurdity but a reckless incursion into the remit of Parliament.

''The trend of unanimity is equally troubling. It doesn’t help explore and expand our legal jurisprudence. The President’s comment is myopic and unfortunate. It only goes to worsen the schism between the Executive and Parliament.''

Minority Leader's Take

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Idrissu, on his part, described the Supreme Court’s ruling as judicial interference in time-tested Parliamentary practice and established conventions, and nothing but a way to show their support for E-Levy.

“Our attention has been drawn to a very disappointing ruling of the Supreme Court of Ghana with more or less amounts to judicial interference in time-tested Parliamentary practice and established conventions....judicial support for e-levy and nothing more, judicial support for a struggling economy in distress and a judicial support for the restoration of a matter that they have said is constitutional, is repugnant to the provisions of 102 and 104,” he said.

Sham!

But perhaps the most fiery outburst was from the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, who in an enraged tweet called the decision not only "despicable", "sham", but further dared anyone to try to implement the ruling in the Chamber of Parliament.

“The sham called Justice delivery in our Republic. Despicable!” he said in a tweet. "Abi we all go dey the Chamber inside. Come and give the referee the ball to play some let us see. The sweetness of the pudding is in its eating," he added in a subsequent tweet.

Prof. Scolds MPs

Addressing the Speaker and Members of Parliament, Prof. Joseph Osafo cautioned them saying ''if we don't respect our democratic architecture, we are preparing ourselves for abuse and violence. If we disrespect consensus and diplomacy or skills of negotiation in the evolution of democracy, we will succeed in destroying the proper governance structure of this nation.''

He noted that some of the legislators are speaking in anger, so warned that ''an anger that is unmanaged, uncensored can be very destructive''.

He advised the Parliamentarians to stay away from parisan politics in the House but adopt diplomatic ways to address national issues, build consensus and desist from unnecessary engagments in unparliamentary incidents.

''As we rise through the ranks to serve this nation, we should be careful about the roles given us...We are not talking to our party members. We are talking to Ghanaians.''