Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has rejected claims that the proposed tribunal system is being established by the government to target members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), insisting that the initiative is aimed at improving justice delivery.
Ayariga argued that political parties do not remain in power permanently and questioned why the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would create a system solely to target its opponents when it could eventually become an institution that serves future administrations.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, July 17, the Majority Leader said concerns about possible political persecution were misplaced, stressing that the tribunal system would remain in place regardless of which party controls government.
“When they say, ‘Oh, we are setting it up to try NPP people, to use it for political persecution,’ as if NDC is going to be in power forever. No. NDC is not likely to be in power forever,”
“So, if we set up a system for our opponents; when we leave office, the system will still be there for them to also use against us,” he said.
Ayariga explained that the tribunal system is being introduced primarily to address delays associated with the traditional court system and ensure that certain cases are resolved more quickly.
According to him, the current judicial process has often been criticised for lengthy delays, and the proposed tribunals are expected to provide a faster avenue for handling specific criminal matters.
“They feel that the traditional courts are slow and so, if you look at this law that we are passing, we have sought to force them to expedite the adjudication of matters, the trial of cases. So, this is fundamentally what the tribunal system tries to deal with,” he stated.
Parliament passed the Tribunals Bill, 2026, after it successfully completed its third reading. The legislation seeks to reintroduce regional tribunals under a revised legal framework aimed at strengthening the administration of justice and improving access to legal remedies.
