Supreme Court orders registrar: Serve Assin North MP personally

A seven-member Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse has ordered the registrar of the court to ensure that the embattled National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, is served personally with a court action instituted at the Apex Court seeking interpretation of Article 94 (2a) of the 1992 constitution.

The Cape Coast High Court in its judgment in an election petition filed against James Gyakye Quayson, challenging the constitutionality of his election because at the time of the filing of nominations, he possessed Canadian citizenship in addition to his Ghanaian citizenship contrary to Article 94 (2a) of the 1992 constitution which states that; “a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he –
(a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana“, ruled that his election is unconstitutional, null and void.

The court further ordered the MP to seize holding himself as a Member of Parliament for Assin North constituency and ordered the Electoral Commission to take steps to hold fresh elections at the Assin North constituency.

The Assin North MP has since challenged the High Court decision at the Court of Appeal and the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has also refused to declare the seat vacate pending the decision of the Court of Appeal.

Lawyers of the Applicant (New Patriotic Party, NPP) Frank Davis told the Supreme Court that the Clerk of Parliament and the Office of the Speaker of Parliament have both refused to accept Serve of the Court Action.

To this end, the Supreme Court ordered the registrar Matthew Antiaye, to ensure that the MP in question James Gyakye Quayson, ought to be served personally. The Court subsequently adjourned sitting sine die to allow the served to be carried out and to afford the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, to empanel the Justices to hear the case going forward.

Injunction

On 6 January,2021 , Justice Boakye issued an interlocutory injunction against Quayson restraining him from holding himself as the MP-elect until the final determination of the election petition.

This in effect barred the MP from being sworn in.

Quayson showed up in Parliament the same day to vote in the election to select the Speaker of Parliament, and for him (Quayson) to be sworn into office as MP.

The Clerk to Parliament initially refused to allow him to take part in the election, but the NDC parliamentary leadership argued that Quayson had not been served with the court order and was, therefore, not aware of any injunction restraining him from holding himself as the MP-elect.

After many arguments, the Clerk to Parliament allowed Quayson to vote and also to be sworn into office, with the caution that he (Quayson) would bear the consequences of that action.

The Cape Coast high court also overruled an objection by lawyers for Quayson, seeking to have the presiding judge, Justice Kwasi Boakye, recuse himself from the case which sought to annul the MP’s election.