Editorial: Taking the presidential oath or not; a case for judicial interpretation

Per the Constitution of Ghana, the Speaker of Parliament takes over the functions of the President and his Vice when they are unable to perform their duties.

But the Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, declined to take the Presidential Oath and this generated an intense debate that drew attention to the provisions of the Constitution on the issue and which raises a few questions in the interest of our democracy.

One obvious question is, could the Speaker of Parliament, on assuming office yesterday, reverse any decision of the government or previous actions of the President which he considered not to be in the public interest by his judgement?

Honestly, beyond the symbolism, is there any substance in the taking of an oath by either the Speaker or the Chief Justice to exercise the authority of the President?

Indeed anytime the President travels, he travels as the Head of State, enjoying all the rights and privileges of the first gentleman of the land.

When the President was in Norway, he issued a statement in the name of the people of Ghana and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to express his frustrations about developments in Burkina Faso.

Again, it is recalled that last year, the President spoke to Ghanaians during the Christmas period from Dubai. He exercised the powers of the President from Dubai in faraway United Arab Emirates (UAE).

If this apparent defect in the Constitution is not cured as soon as practicable, one day this Constitution may create a crisis for the country when the Speaker is not a member of the ruling party.

The near confusion in Parliament last Wednesday could have been avoided if the framers of the Constitution had been more forward-looking in respect of this issue.

This is because the Presidential Oath, after all, explains why asking anybody, other than the President, to take the oath of the President was very ambiguous.

The Constitution is going through a phase for amendment. We invite all Ghanaians to speak up on some of the grey areas of the Constitution, in the hope that those who have the power to initiate the process to make the document work would do so.

The Daily Graphic calls on everybody – lawyers, civil society organisations (CSOs), other professional groups, the media and, indeed, the ordinary people – to raise their voices against anything that will attempt to undermine the sanctity of the Constitution.

Perhaps, those who feel more strongly about the issue can test that particular provision at the Supreme Court.