A Cape Coast High Court has ordered for fresh parliamentary election in the Assin North constituency.
The court was presided over by Justice Kwasi Boakye declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency as null and void.
This ruling was given on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
In his judgement, Justice Boakye upheld that, the National Democratic Congress’ parliamentary candidate for the constituency, James Gyaakye Quayson was “restrained from holding himself out as Member of Parliament-elect for the Assin North constituency within the Central Region of the Republic of Ghana and further presenting himself to be sworn in as Member of Parliament-elect as such until the final determination of the petition.”
The ruling means that the NDC’s seats in parliament have dropped to 135 as against the NPP’s 137 until a by-election is held to determine who wins the seat.
Background
Michael Ankomah-Nimfa, a resident of Assin Bereku in the Central Region, filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court seeking to annul the declaration of James Gyakye Quayson as the MP for Assin North constituency.
The petitioner in his case stated that, at the time the MP was filing to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections, he had not renounced his Canadian citizenship and thus held dual nationality.
He avers, at the close of nominations on October 9, 2020, the Assin MP had not still renounced his Canadian nationality and such act is a complete violation of Article 94 (2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution which states, “A person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he or she – (a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana.”
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), had insisted that their MP is “a full citizen of Ghana who owes no allegiance whatsoever to any other country. He is a Ghanaian in law and in fact and qualifies to be a Member of Parliament according to the laws of Ghana.”
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
