The Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, has defended the passage of the Tribunals Bill, 2026, rejecting concerns that the legislation could be abused for political purposes.

His remarks come after Parliament on July 16 passed the Tribunals Bill, 2026, introduced by Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr. Dominic Ayine.

The bill seeks to re-establish and operationalize a modernized public tribunal system to decongest the courts, expedite justice delivery and activate dormant provisions under Articles 126 and 142 of the 1992 Constitution.

The New Patriotic Party Minority in Parliament and other critics have raised concerns over possible political manipulation.

However, speaking on TV3’s KeyPoints programme on Saturday, July 18, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker argued that members of the Minority participated fully in the parliamentary process and raised no dissent at the committee stage.

“The fear is unfounded, completely unfounded. The safeguards are there in the Constitution. It is not as if somebody is now seeking to bring them up,” said the MP.

Mr. Baidoo said concerns linking the proposed tribunals to the Public Tribunals established during the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era were misplaced, insisting that the 1992 Constitution introduced safeguards, including appellate procedures through the regular courts.

He further asserted that recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs addressed concerns over strict timelines for hearing cases, replacing earlier proposals with a requirement for matters to be handled expeditiously.

The Akwatia MP argued that the tribunals would deal only with criminal matters and help reduce delays that often result in witnesses becoming unavailable and evidence weakening before cases are concluded.

“You sat together and came by this. There was no dissent from a member of the NPP… The thing came to the plenary, and you are behaving as though you’ve never heard it. What sort of behavior is this?” he asked