The Member of Parliament for the Assin North Constituency, James Gyakye Quayson, has revealed that the trial judge who presided over the annulment of his election as MP in the 2020 elections never invited him to serve as a witness in the case.
Speaking in an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV, Mr Quayson said, “After the 3rd week of my victory in 2020, I was served through my lawyers a court injunction, that they were challenging my elections. During that same entire process, I never had a day in court myself, I never had a chance. The trial judge never called me as a witness, or anything, even once, which my lawyers were demanding. In all these processes, I wasn’t in court. Obviously, they gave it to a bailiff to serve me, and that was a day before the swearing-in. We never received it, my lawyers never received it”.
Asked if he was smuggled into the Chamber of Parliament during the swearing-in on January 6, 2021, he retorted, “I will not use the word smuggling. I was in a hotel with my team, and we decided we will come in the night together. It was partly a celebration team. I was in a smaller group to enter the chamber. I was going to go with the flow. Nobody stopped me from entering the chamber. There was controversy about the injunction during the swearing-in, as to the time I was served. The bottom line was that I was never served”.
Background
Mr. Quayson was ousted from Parliament and his name was expunged from the legislative body’s records after the Supreme Court nullified his election in the 2020 polls for holding dual citizenship.
His woes began in November 2020 after a group called ‘Concerned Citizens of Assin North petitioned the Electoral Commission in the Central Region to withdraw the candidature of Mr. Quayson, arguing that he owes allegiance to Canada.
Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, a teacher and resident of Yamoransa in the Central Region, subsequently filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court after the election seeking to annul the declaration of Mr. Quayson as the MP Assin North.
The Cape Coast High Court in the Central Region upheld Mr. Akomah-Nimfah’s request and declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency as null and void because Mr Quayson breached the provisions of the constitution with regard to dual citizenship.
The Supreme Court on May 17 upheld the ruling of the Cape Coast High Court and directed Parliament to expunge his name from its records.
On Tuesday, May 30, Parliament declared the Assin North seat vacant, giving way for fresh elections in the constituency.
Mr Quayson in a statement insisted that he duly renounced his Canadian citizenship prior to contesting the 2020 polls but said “the most important thing to me right now is to contest and win the by-election which is the result of what the Supreme Court announced on 17th May 2023. I am determined to continue serving the good people of the Assin North with all my heart, soul, body and all the resources I can muster for the benefit of my constituents”.
After his ousting from Parliament, Mr. Quayson later won a by-election.
