 for Assin-North from holding himself as MP for the constituency.){kind=link}
The Supreme Court has granted an injunction against James Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin-North from holding himself as MP for the constituency.
By a 5-2 ruling, the court said the application from Michael Ankomah Nimfah succeeds.
While Justice Agnes Dordzie and Justice Nene Amegatcher dissented, Justice Jones Dotse, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, and Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi granted the injunction.
On February 1, 2022, the applicant Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, a private citizen filed a writ seeking the interpretation of Article 94 (2a) and an injunction of the Member of Parliament from holding himself as such.
The petitioner also contended that Hon Quayson was not eligible on the basis that at the time of filing his parliamentary nomination, he held citizenship of another country (Canada) in addition to Ghana.
He also restrained Hon James Quayson from holding himself as MP for the Constituency.
This was the Judgment of an election petition filed by a resident of Assin North, Michael Nimfah who challenged the eligibility of Mr. Quayson to hold the office as an MP.
The MP has since the above Judgment of the Court, gone to the Court of Appeal to quash the Judgement of the High Court and in the Supreme Court to challenge a ruling of the Court of Appeal.
After the court ruling today, April 13 2022, Baba Jamal, a member of the legal team of the embattled MP said they strongly disagreed with the ruling and will meet to decide the next steps to take.
“The Supreme Court has given its ruling, but we vehemently disagree with their position. I think that is a sad day for all of us. What it means is that Assin North is also not going to have representation in Parliament for as long as this case lasts. That is a sad situation.
There are precedents in this country. We all remember the case in Ayawaso West Wuogon where the lady was allowed to be in Parliament until the final determination of the case. So we thought that the Supreme Court would consider that situation and allow the representation to continue,” he told reporters.
Frank Davis, the counsel for the plaintiff, Michael Ankomah Nimfah, however, told reporters that moving forward, there will be representation from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for constituents in Assin-North.
“The mere fact that they don’t have a Member of Parliament at this time, does not in any event, strip them of what they are entitled to, as citizens of this country. At any particular point in time, there will be a needed representation from the New Patriotic Party for the Assin-North constituency.”
Meanwhile, the Court has directed both parties to file submissions on the substantive matter before April 25, 2022, and then adjourned indefinitely.