Lawyers representing the Speaker of Parliament have requested that Supreme Court Judge, Justice Ernest Gaewu, recuse himself from a case involving the Speaker’s decision to declare certain parliamentary seats vacant.

The Supreme Court began hearing the case on Wednesday, October 30, following a suit filed by Speaker Alban Bagbin.

The Speaker seeks to overturn a prior ruling by the Court that granted a stay of execution on his declarations regarding the vacant seats.

During the hearing, Thaddeus Sory, the Speaker’s lead counsel, argued that Justice Gaewu’s past political affiliation with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) could compromise his impartiality in the case. Sory stated, “Justice Gaewu was publicly associated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and, in fact, ran as a parliamentary candidate for one of its constituencies in the Volta Region.”

Mr Sory contended that Justice Gaewu’s previous political ties may influence his perspective on this significant parliamentary matter and, therefore, requested that he step down to maintain the integrity and neutrality of the proceedings.