A court in Cape Coast has struck out an appeal by Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayeson, challenging a ruling that stops him from holding himself as MP.
The legislator proceeded to the Court of Appeal to overturn a Cape Coast High Court judgement nullifying his election as Assin North MP and consequently ordering his removal, following his dual citizenship status.
The court also ordered for a re-run of the December 2020 elections in the same constituency.
But the embattled legislator, who is also facing perjury charges at an Accra High Court over the same issue, refused to accept the Cape Coast ruling, and appealed.
However, on Tuesday, the court struck out his appeal for non-compliance with court procedures.
In the judgement, the presiding judge, Irene Charity Larbi, said the MP failed to comply with the court’s directives to submit his written submission within a stipulated time.
The court had ordered that the MP file his written submission within 21 days, beginning from the day he filed the appeal, which was in October 2021.
But five months on, the MP’s legal team have still not filed, ignoring the court’s directive.
As it stands now, the application for stay of execution, which prevented the Electoral Commission (EC) from holding a fresh registration has been nullified.
This means the Cape Coast High Court ruling of ordering fresh elections at the Assin North constituency holds.
Tuesday’s ruling comes after the Supreme Court, on July 27, 2021, struck out an application by the MP over the same dual citizenship matter.
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-elect for the area.
The plaintiff, a mason, averred that at the time 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-elect’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-elect received his certificate on November 26, at the time he filed his nomination, he did not have the requisite qualification.
NPP strategy
On December 23, 2020, the governing New Patriotic Party sought to trigger a by-election by challenging the eligibility of James Quayson to contest in the Assin North parliamentary elections, but he won.
Legal practitioner, Gary Nimako, had asked the Ghana Immigration Service to confirm if indeed the NDC MP-elect had renounced his Canadian citizenship before the December 7 parliamentary elections.