Parliament Declares Assin North Seat Vacant2 min read
Parliament of Ghana has officially declared the Assin North seat as vacant.
This was communicated by the Clerk of Parliament in conformity with the ruling by the Supreme Court on the eligibility of James Quayson as Member of Parliament for the area.
The Clerk in a memo to the Electoral Commission stated: “In the exercise of the power conferred and the duty imposed on the Clerk to Parliament by section 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act 527), I, CYRIL KWABENA OTENG NSIAH, Clerk to Parliament do hereby formally notify you of the occurrence of a vacancy in the Assin North Constituency necessitated by the Judgement of the Supreme Court dated 17 May 2023 vide Writ No. J1/11/2022 issued in respect of James Gyakye Quayson in the case of Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson. The Electoral Commission of Ghana and the Attorney-General request you to take appropriate consequential action as required by law.”
The Supreme Court by a unanimous decision ordered Ghana’s Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records as the Member of Parliament for the Assin North constituency on May 17.
The Court on, Wednesday, 17 May 2023, declared as unconstitutional the election of Mr Gyakye Quayson as MP for Assin North saying he held dual citizenship as at the time he filed to contest the 2020 elections
A resident of Assin Bereku in the Central region, Michael Ankomah Nimfa dragged Mr Quayson to the court to restrain him from holding himself as MP after a Cape Coast High Court in July 2021 annulled his election as Assin North MP.
The petitioner had prayed the apex court that James Gyakye Quayson’s continuous stay in office despite a High Court Judgment annulling his election offended the constitution, and was not fair to the people of Assin North.
