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Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer, NDC
Democratic National Congress (NDC) MP James Gyekye Quayson, whose election was contested and overturned on the grounds that he held dual citizenship, was found to have delayed obtaining his certificate of renunciation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This latest information comes after he was ordered by a Cape Coast High Court to leave Parliament with immediate effect and the overturning of the results of the legislative elections in the constituency of Assin North in the central region, which Mr Quayson won on December 7, 2020. He is appealing the decision.
Speaking in an interview monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Sammy Gyamfi, NDC’s national communications manager, said Mr Quayson denounced his Canadian allegiance as early as December 2019.
According to the young lawyer and NDC spokesperson speaking to Tikese of Okay FM, under Canadian law, it took 6 months “normally” to obtain a certificate of renunciation when denouncing allegiance, so Mr. Quayson should ideally have received his certificate by June 2020 However, it rather “took 11 months … and we all know the pandemic that has come to disrupt our lives”.
Sammy Gyamfi said that without the coronavirus pandemic, it was taken for granted that Mr Quayson would not have been late.
Even with the 11-month delay, lawyer Sammy Gyamfi argued that the NDC MP still had not broken the law, because a case already decided by the Supreme Court, Paa Kwasi Nduom against the Electoral Commission, shows that appointment to the EC is not limited to filing and submitting documents. .
Sammy Gyamfi expressed great confidence in the party’s appeal to challenge the judgment handed down by the Cape Coast High Court chaired by Judge Kwasi Boakye who ordered new elections in the constituency.
The court ruled that the filing of parliamentary nomination forms by Mr. Quayson while he held Canadian citizenship at the time of filing said nomination forms between October 5 and 9, 2020 with the Election Commission (EC) violates the article 94. [2] [a] of the 1992 Constitution, Article 9 [2] [a] of PNDCL 284 and CI 127.
The court condemned the EC’s decision to allow Mr. Quayson to run in the 2020 legislative elections in the constituency of Assin North when the latter was not qualified as a candidate because of his allegiance to Canada other than Ghana, which violates Article 92. [2] [a] of the 1992 Constitution, Article 9 [2] [a] of PNDCL 284, as amended and CI 127.
The court declared that the election of Mr. Quayson “is null and void and has no legal effect, as it violates Ghana’s electoral laws” because at the time of the election the respondent was not not qualified to stand as a candidate in accordance with electoral rules. laws of Ghana.
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