Andrews Kwame Pianim, an economist and former New Patriotic Party (NPP) official, has criticized the minority caucus in parliament for their decision to abstain from parliamentary business in order to defend Gyakye Quayson in court.
In an earlier statement, the NDC minority in Parliament threatened to boycott sessions if Assin North member James Gyakye Quayson had to appear in court daily as part of his ongoing criminal case.
“If the Member of Parliament must appear in court every weekday for trial, what time will he have to attend to Parliamentary business to represent the people of Assin North? We are therefore, at this point, including all options available to us to defend and protect our colleague,’’ parts of their statement noted.
In reaction to this, Kwame Pianim has suggested that the allowances of the MPs who have decided to boycott parliament should be withheld.
Speaking in an interview on TV3’s News 360, monitored by 1Family Radio, the economist stated that parliamentarians have no business boycotting parliament just to support another MP in court.
“A parliamentarian has no business boycotting parliament. If they boycott parliament, their allowances should be taken off,’’ he said.
He continued that political cases taken to court have the propensity to weaken the independence of the judiciary and make it more partisan.
“Political parties and the EC should make sure that elections are won at the ballot box, not in court. If you put politics in front of the courts, you are weakening them and making them partisan. Let them be free because once we lose the independence of the judiciary, there is no justice in this country,’’ he added.
Source: 1Familyradio
