Parliament has notified the Electoral Commission (EC) of the occurrence of a vacancy in the Assin North Constituency necessitated by the judgment of the Supreme Court on May 17, 2023.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the subject was discussed thoroughly over the weekend at the Service Board meeting.
Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah, in a letter dated May 29, 2023, explained that the move was in the exercise of the power conferred and the duty imposed on him by Section 3 of the Constitution of Ghana (Amendment) Act 1996 (Act 527).
In reference to the writ no. J1/11/2022 issued in the instance of Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson, he urged that the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, take necessary consequential actions as required by law.
The Supreme Court ordered that the name of James Gyakye Quayson be removed from Parliament’s records after ruling that the deposed MP failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship when he filed his candidacy forms to run in the parliamentary election.
Earlier Action
On January 6, 2021, the Cape Coast High Court issued a last-minute order prohibiting the then-NDC Assin North MP-elect, James Gyakye Quayson, from holding himself out as MP-elect.
The verdict was reached following the petition submitted by Michael Ankomah Nimfah, who claimed that the then-NDC MP-elect held Canadian citizenship at the time he filed his nomination to run in the December election.
The sitting judge, Kwasi Boakye, ordered that Mr. Quayson not present himself for swearing in as Member of Parliament-elect until the petition was resolved, but he refused.
The opposition MPs-elect, led by Haruna Iddrisu, repeatedly interrupted the election processes to choose the Speaker, demanding for James Gyakye Quayson to be allowed to take part in the voting despite the restraining order from the Cape Coast High Court.
When the Clerk to Parliament read the injunction order to prevent Mr. Quayson from participating in the election of the Speaker and the subsequent swearing-in, the NDC exploded and threatened to skin him alive.
The pronouncement prompted scuffles amidst banging of tables and shouts across the aisle, thereby halting the election process.
The development heightened tensions in the chamber, which devolved into chaos at the stroke of midnight as members of the NPP and NDC clashed over the choice of the Speaker.
The House could not make a conclusion after three attempts to vote because some members carried the ballot boxes away and others kicked the voting booths due to worries over secret ballots.
Things came to a head when armed military and police officers stormed the chamber to restore law and order.
Calm was however restored for the election to continue, and within a few minutes into counting of votes, another scuffle ensued when the then MP-elect for Tema West, Carlos Ahenkorah snatched ballot papers from an officer of the Chamber assisting in the supervision of the poll.
By Ernest Kofi Adu