ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s Supreme Court restored the ruling party’s majority in the parliament on Tuesday ahead of the Dec. 7 election, with an order that the speaker's declaration of four seats as vacant was unconstitutional.
Last month, two members of parliament from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and one from the biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) announced that they would run as independent candidates in the election, while an independent candidate joined the NPP.
The Speaker of the Parliament Alban Bagbin declared their seats vacant, arguing that the constitution does not allow MPs to defect. The parliament was indefinitely adjourned after the declaration.
Bagbin’s decision had shifted the parliamentary majority to the NDC, giving it one seat more than the outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo’s NPP’s 135.
The Supreme Court's ruling restores the ruling NPPs slim majority of 138 seats, including one independent who leans towards the NPP, against 137 for the opposition NDC.
Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo announced the court’s majority decision of 5:2 in a televised ruling, adding that it will file the reasons behind its decision later.
The presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana will be held concurrently on Dec. 7. It will be the ninth consecutive general election since the country’s return to multi-party democracy in 1992.
Ghana has held peaceful, free and fair elections for nearly two decades but allegations of voter roll irregularities this year have created concerns about a possible democratic backslide.
In September, the NDC held nationwide protests demanding an audit of the voter roll, alleging it detected thousands of unauthorized transfers and erasures of voter names.
President Akufo-Addo is stepping down this year after his second and final four-year term. Former President John Dramani Mahama of the NDC, who lost in the 2016 and 2020 elections, will face off with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the NPP in this year’s election.
Last month, tensions surrounding the elections led the U.S. State Department to issue a warning that it would restrict U.S. visas for people who undermine Ghana’s democracy ahead of the vote.
FILE - Speaker of Ghana Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin speaks at the Parliament House in Accra, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 36 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 139-114 on Wednesday night.
Payton Pritchard had 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Celtics, who quickly and emphatically bounced back with their highest points total of the season after a surprising 117-116 home loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night.
Boston fell into a 13-point hole in the first quarter of this one before the NBA champions snapped themselves back into top form and turned the game into a rout with a 74-point second half.
Ziaire Williams scored a season-high 23 points for the Nets.
Celtics: The home loss to an Atlanta team that played without star guard Trae Young was puzzling. But when the Celtics play like they did in the third quarter, when they rang up 38 points and were 7 for 11 behind the arc, nights like those will be rare.
Nets: The Nets should like what they're seeing from Williams, who made his second straight start with Ben Simmons (left calf tightness) and Dorian Finney-Smith (sprained left ankle) sidelined. They added the No. 10 pick in the 2021 draft after he spent his first three seasons in Memphis.
Derrick White, who scored a season-high 31 points Tuesday, was in foul trouble and scoreless in the first half Wednesday. He finally got on the board with a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, quickly sparking the Celtics to a 13-2 spurt that pushed a four-point lead to 85-70.
The Celtics have won 12 of the last 13 meetings overall against the Nets and seven straight in Brooklyn, where they haven't lost since the 2020-21 season.
The Celtics are off until hosting Toronto on Saturday night. The Nets head across town to visit the Knicks on Friday and Sunday night.
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Brooklyn Nets' Cam Thomas shoots while Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schroder celebrates after scoring a three-point basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday grabs a rebound in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown reacts after scoring a three-point basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum reacts after scoring a three-point basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
