Chieftaincy and active politics: LLB graduate drags AG to Supreme Court
According to the applicant, the letter and spirit of the above Article prevent chiefs from doing or engaging in active politics but most of them are seen during General elections endorsing politicians openly.
A holder of the Bachelor of Law degree, Elorm Kwami Gorni, has dragged the Attorney General to the Supreme Court of Ghana seeking an interpretation of Article 276 of the 1992 Constitution.
The plaintiff, per the action, filed somewhere in 2020, notes that the letter and spirit of the above Article prevent chiefs from doing or engaging in active politics but most of them are seen during General elections endorsing politicians openly.
During the 2020 General Elections and even the ones preceding, most chiefs were seen and heard in the media publicly endorsing various presidential candidates, especially the incumbent ones.
Article 276 states;
(1) A chief shall not take part in active party politics, and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin.
(2) Notwithstanding clause (1) of this article and paragraph (c) of clause (3) of article 94 of this Constitution, a chief may be appointed to any public office for which he is otherwise qualified.
Elorm, who is a citizen of Ghana believes that such acts by chiefs amounted to them actively engaging in party politics and thus seeking the court’s interpretation of Article 276 of the Constitution 1992.
However, after considering the issues and applying the facts to the statute, the Supreme Court delivered its decision on November 1, 2022.
Even though a member of the panel, Pwamang(JSC) was absent, the presiding Justice, Dotse(JSC) noted that he had consented to the judgment and thus could go ahead.
The court in its wisdom thus dismissed the action in a unanimous decision and indicated that its full judgment will be at the Registry of the court by November 30, 2022.
