Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has mounted a firm defence of the Clerk to Parliament over the decision to declare the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant, emphasising that the Clerk acted strictly in accordance with the law.
Speaking on the Joy Super Morning Show, Ayariga stressed that the Clerk followed due process once there was no contrary directive from the courts.
“What I know is that, as the law is, the Clerk acted properly within the law. He cannot be faulted,” he said.
“Once you don’t have an order of the court saying that its judgment should be stayed, the time keeps running. And as we speak, the Clerk, having communicated to the Electoral Commission, the 30 days have started running.”
He also addressed the Speaker’s remarks on the matter, noting that the challenge arose from disruptions on the floor that prevented the Speaker from delivering a ruling.
“What the Speaker actually meant was that we should have allowed a discussion in the chamber in an atmosphere that would enable him to give a ruling. They prevented that from happening,” Ayariga stated, adding that “they are the ones who have suffered the legal consequences.”
Ayariga maintained that the Clerk’s action was neither premature nor misguided, but a straightforward application of the law following the court’s decision.
