Tension erupted in Ghana’s Parliament on Thursday, August 27, 2026, after Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin led Minority MPs in a walkout from the Appointments Committee’s vetting of three Supreme Court nominees.

The Minority protested what it described as an unnecessarily rushed process, arguing that Parliament had not been given enough time to properly scrutinize the nominees before considering their appointments to Ghana’s highest court.

The three nominees are Justice Sophia Bernasko-Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jr. President John Dramani Mahama nominated the three for appointment to the Supreme Court.

Afenyo-Markin stressed that the Minority was not opposing the nominees personally or challenging the President’s constitutional authority to nominate Supreme Court justices. Instead, he said the caucus was concerned about the timetable and procedure being used.

According to the Minority Leader, the nominations were presented to Parliament on Monday, yet the vetting was already taking place by Thursday. He argued that such a short period did not provide enough opportunity for MPs and members of the public to examine the nominees’ backgrounds and submit relevant information.

The Minority also maintained that the Supreme Court currently has its full complement of justices, questioning why the appointments needed to be handled with such urgency. Afenyo-Markin called for the vetting to be postponed and for the usual notice period to be observed.

However, Appointments Committee Chairman Bernard Ahiafor rejected the Minority’s objections and defended the decision to continue with the exercise. He argued that Parliament had been recalled partly to consider the Supreme Court nominations and that the committee was properly proceeding with its work.

Following the disagreement, Afenyo-Markin and members of the Minority walked out, leaving the Majority side to continue the vetting.

The dramatic boycott has added another layer of political controversy to the Supreme Court appointments, with attention now focused on whether the three nominees will ultimately receive parliamentary approval despite the Minority’s protest.