The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Honorable Samuel Okudjato Ablakwa has cautioned Parliament to pay critical attention to the works of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the Ghana Police Service and the judiciary before approving their budgets for the next financial year.
The Ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament in a Facebook post indicated that financial allocations to these three state institutions should be measurable to the services they provide to the public.
“During the 2024 Budget approval processes in Parliament this November, it certainly must not be business as usual for these 3 institutions: Ghana Police Service, Electoral Commission and the Judiciary”.
Okudzeto Ablakwa
Mr. Ablakwa quizzes why Parliament which is the representative of the people continue to approve budgetary allocations to these state institutions when the service these institutions render are not in the interest of the public.
Why should the police budget be approved when they keep blocking legitimate protests capriciously? Why should the Police budget receive our approval when they can’t stop brutalizing harmless civilians? Would a blanket approval of their budget not amount to a tacit parliamentary endorsement of their atrocities?
Ablakwa Accuses EC, Police And Judiciary For Acting With Impunity
The legislator also accused the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensa of acting with impunity and unconstitutionally conducting the limiter voter registration exercise that has led to voter suppression and mass disenfranchisement.
“Why should the EC budget be approved when they continue with impunity to carry out their unconstitutional schemes of voter suppression and mass disenfranchisement?”
Okudzeto Ablakwa
Mr. Ablakwa therefore admonished Parliament to not allow the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa be made to get away with her blatant falsehood against Parliament when she dishonestly claimed Parliament cut her 2023 budget.
The former Deputy Minister of Education also accused the judiciary of not upholding justice as it is mandated and required by the 1992 Constitution. He believes the lackadaisical conduct of the judiciary in determining matters of national interest brought before it has emboldened institutions such as the Electoral Commission and the Police to act with impunity.
“Why should this particular judiciary which recklessly enables and emboldens the Police and the EC receive our blessings? Why should a judiciary which refuses to hear our e-levy case be heard in Parliament when they present their 2024 budget?
Why should a judiciary which has different standards for political cases depending on which political tradition it favours continue to receive our cooperation within the legislature? “
Okudzeto Ablakwa
According to the legislator, Parliament has a choice in November to either stand with the Ghanaian people and curtail the abominable levels of tyranny of the Executive and the Judiciary, and thereby begin to restore some confidence in Ghana’s ailing democracy or to betray the people who gave them their mandate
He therefore admonished Parliament to act in the interest of the Ghanaian public as the institution of Parliament now remains the last resort in ensuring accountability for the good people of Ghana.
Meanwhile, Dr. S.K.B. Asante, a constitutional scholar and the Paramount Chief of Asokore Asante, has urged Ghanaians, particularly politicians, to give the judiciary and the Electoral Commission (EC) room to carry out their mandate in the nation’s best interest.
Nana Dr Asante, who served as the Chairman of the Committee of Experts that drafted constitutional proposals that eventually led to the adoption of the 1992 Constitution, urged politicians, in particular, to support the judiciary and the EC in carrying out their duties free from obstructions, claiming that if there were flaws, everyone would notice them and discuss them objectively.
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