Source: newsthemegh.com
In the impending by-election, the National Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged Assin North voters to cast their largest possible number of ballots for Charles Opoku, the party’s candidate for the parliamentary seat.
When he visited the region to formally introduce the parliamentary candidate to the entire community, he made the request in a media interview.
Prior to the by-election slated for June 27, 2023, Chairman Ntim paid a courtesy call on Nana Oduro Basayiadom II, the chief of Assin Breku, and the residents of Assin North Constituency.
He complimented the administration for the significant projects carried out in the district, guaranteeing that other development projects are on the horizon.
In the crucial by-election, the NPP is prepared to seize the Assin North Constituency seat from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The 2020 election of Mr. Quayson as MP was unanimously ruled unlawful by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, necessitating the need for the by-election.
“Parliament is ordered to expunge the name of first defendant (James Gyakye Quayson) as Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency,” the court stated.
The court determined that Mr. Quayson’s whole election process—including the submission of nomination papers, the actual election, and the swearing-in—violated Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution, which prohibits someone with dual citizenship from running for office.
The court reasoned that Mr. Quayson was ineligible under Article 94(2)(a) of the Constitution because he had not relinquished his Canadian citizenship as of the time he submitted his nomination paperwork to run for the Assin North seat in October 2020.
Due to this, the court further determined that by allowing Mr. Quayson to run for office, the Electoral Commission (EC) also broke Article 94(2)(a) of the Constitution.
“Upon the true and proper interpretation of Article 94(2)(a), the decision of second defendant [Electoral Commission] to permit the first defendant [James Gyakye Quayson] to contest the parliamentary election of Assin North when the first defendant had not shown evidence of the cancellation of his citizenship of Canada is an act which is inconsistent with and violates Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution,” the court ruled.
As a result, the court ruled that Mr. Quayson’s election and swearing-in as an MP were illegal, invalid, and without legal standing.