The official ruling by the Supreme Court that James Gyakye Quayson’s election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North in the Central Region was unconstitutional has been made public.
This comes after a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court mandated that Parliament remove Mr. Quayson’s name from its records.
On May 17, the presiding judge, Justice Jones Dotse, concluded that the Electoral Commission (EC) had broken the law by letting him to run in the 2020 parliamentary elections without providing evidence that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship.
This came about after Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a constituent, filed a lawsuit.
Mr. Nimfah had pleaded with the court to find that Mr. Quayson was ineligible to run for office as a member of Parliament at the time he submitted his nomination form in October 2020, in accordance with a true and proper interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the Ghanaian Constitution, 1992.
According to this clause of the constitution, a person who has allegiance to a nation other than Ghana is ineligible to serve as a member of parliament.
As a result, the court decided unanimously that Mr. Quayson was ineligible when he submitted his nomination paperwork.
Furthermore, it was determined that it was unlawful for the EC to permit him to contest while he had not provided proof of giving up his Canadian citizenship.
It further stated that his election was invalid, void, and without consequence.
His oath of office was also ruled to be invalid, and Parliament was instructed to remove his name from its files.
Justices Barbara Ackah Ayensu, Nene Amegatcher, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkonoo, Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, and Jones Dotse heard the case.
Find a copy of the full ruling below:
