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Following the Supreme Court’s decision on James Gyakye Quayson’s ability to hold the Assin North seat, Parliament through its Clerk has declared the seat vacant.
On May 17, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling directing Ghana’s Parliament to remove James Gyakye Quayson’s name from the roster of lawmakers representing the Assin North seat.
In a memo to the Electoral Commission, the Clerk wrote: “In the exercise of the power conferred and the duty imposed on the Clerk to Parliament by section 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act 527), I, CYRIL KWABENA OTENG NSIAH, Clerk to Parliament do hereby formally notify you of the occurrence of a vacancy in the Assin North Constituency necessitated by the Judgement of the Supreme Court dated 17 May 2023 vide Writ No. J1/11/2022 issued in respect of James Gyakye Quayson in the case of Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson. The Electoral Commission of Ghana and the Attorney-General request you to take appropriate consequential action as required by law.”
Read the memo below:
A group calling themselves “Concerned Citizens of Assin North” petitioned the Central Region of the Electoral Commission in November 2020 to have Mr. Quayson’s candidacy withdrawn on the grounds that he owed allegiance to Canada.
In the Assin North constituency for the 2020 elections, James Gyakye Quayson, who ran on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress as its parliamentary candidate, received 17,498 votes, representing (55.21%), while Abena Durowaa Mensah, the New Patriotic Party’s candidate, received 14,193 votes, representing (44.79%).
After the election, Yamoransa resident and teacher Michael Ankomah-Nimfah filed a suit at the Cape Coast High Court asking for the declaration of Mr. Quayson as the MP for Assin North to be overturned.
The 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency was declared invalid because Mr. Quayson had violated the constitution’s prohibitions on holding dual citizenship, according to the Cape Coast High Court in the Central Region, which upheld Mr. Akomah-Nimfah’s request.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
