Source: newsthemegh.com
The main opposition National Democratic Congress candidate for the 27 June 2023 Assin North by-election, James Gyakye Quayson, had requested that the ongoing criminal trial against him be postponed. However, a high court in Accra has ruled that this cannot be done.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Mr. Quayson’s election as a member of parliament in 2020 was invalid, his name was struck from the parliamentary roll.
When Mr. Quayson filed his paperwork to run for office, the nation’s top court reasoned in its ruling that he was a dual citizen.
Dual citizens cannot run for public office in Ghana under current regulations.
In relation to the dual citizenship controversy, Mr. Quayson is being prosecuted on criminal charges.
When he denied being loyal to any other nation but Ghana, he was prosecuted with perjury and misleading a public authority.
His attorneys had requested that the lawsuit be put on hold until after the by-election, but the state objected to that request in court on Friday, June 16, 2023.
The matter was postponed until 21 June 2023 after the court rejected Mr. Quayson’s motion.