James Quayson No Longer MP for Assin North – Supreme Court Declares

The Supreme Court has ruled for Parliament to remove James Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North.

A seven-member panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse delivered the verdict on Wednesday, May 17.

It was a unanimous decision taken by the panel made up of Nene Amegatcher, Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkornoo, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi and Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu.

The panel ruled that James Gyakye Quayson was not qualified at the time of nomination to qualify for the Assin North parliamentary elections in 2020.

The Supreme Court further ruled that the action by the Electoral Commission (EC) to allow Mr Quayson to contest when he had not shown his certificate of renunciation of his citizenship of Canada was unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

Additionally, the apex court said the swearing of Mr Quayson into office as MP for Assin North was also unconstitutional.

This implies that the EC is required to organise fresh elections for the vacant Assin North seat.

How it all started

A private citizen and a resident of Assin Berekum, Micheal Ankomah Nimfah, filed a suit at the Cape Coast High Court challenging the qualification of Mr Quayson as the MP for the area.

The plaintiff, a mason, averred that when Mr Quayson filed his nomination, he was still holding onto his Canadian citizenship and failed to denounce his citizenship as required by law.

Ghana’s laws bar dual citizens from holding public offices in Ghana.

In freezing the MP’s right to be in Parliament, the judge said: “the allegation contained is of grave nature, and he could not hold himself as MP.”

Also, the NDC MP-elect did not have the renunciation certificate to present before the court to confirm that he had indeed renounced his Canadian citizenship.

Although court documents showed the MP received his certificate on November 26, at the time he filed his nomination, he did not have the requisite qualification.

Cape Coast High Court Ruling 

In the judgment on July 28 2021, the court said the MP who was dragged to court weakened his case when his renunciation certificate date showed November 26 2020, less than two weeks before the December 7, 2020, elections.

Per court records, Mr Quayson had two citizenship certificates at the time of filing.

He still had his Canadian citizenship when he filed for parliamentary elections between October 5 and October 9 2020, meaning the NDC MP was not qualified when he applied to compete for the Assin North seat.

The trial judge Justice Kwasi Boakye also mentioned that it would be a scar and a blot on the country’s legal jurisprudence if the error in the December 2020 parliamentary polls is allowed to stand.

The court also said it would be a cancerous tumour in Ghana’s elections if Mr Quayson is allowed and continues to hold himself as Assin North MP.

In conclusion, the judge said the MP had violated certain constitutional provisions and other statutory provisions that guide Ghana’s elections. Therefore, a need for a fresh election to be held.

After the Cape Coast High Court ruling, the state initiated perjury charges against the embattled MP James Quayson.

He is facing five counts — deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.