Parliament has corresponded with the Electoral Commission (EC) to signify the absence of a representative for the Assin North district.
A letter sent to the EC by the Clerk of Parliament on Monday, May 29 was prompted by the Supreme Court’s recent verdict and mandates.
This void will necessitate a special election.
The apex court directed the Parliament to eliminate James Gyakye Quayson’s name from its archives after establishing that he did not relinquish his Canadian citizenship when submitting his nomination papers to run for the elections.
Judge Jones Dotse, who presided over the case, declared on Wednesday, May 17, that the Electoral Commission (EC) violated the constitution by enabling him to participate in the 2020 parliamentary elections without evidence of relinquishing his Canadian citizenship.
This was in response to a lawsuit filed by a resident of the district, Michael Ankomah Nimfah.
Mr Ankomah Nimfah had petitioned the court to declare that based on a genuine and appropriate interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, James Gyakye Quayson was not eligible to contest for a parliamentary seat at the time he submitted his nomination form in October 2020 for the 2020 Parliamentary elections in the Assin North district.
The provision of the constitution states that a person cannot be qualified to be a Member of Parliament if they owe allegiance to a country other than Ghana.
The court unanimously ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified to contest at the time of filing his nomination forms.
The court also found that the Electoral Commission (EC) acted unconstitutionally by allowing Mr. Quayson to contest in the 2020 parliamentary elections without evidence of renouncing his Canadian citizenship.
As a result, the court ordered that Mr. Quayson’s name be removed from the parliamentary records, and his seat be declared vacant, requiring a by-election to fill the position.
Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
