James Gyakye Quayson wins back Assin North seat for NDC

National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) James Gyakye Quayson is set to make his triumphant return to Parliament after being stripped of his position by the Cape Coast High Court over his dual citizenship.

Mr Gyakye Quayson on Tuesday, June 27, beat his closest contender, Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Assin North by-election by obtaining 17,245 votes out of the total valid votes of 29,962, representing 57.56 per cent.

Mr Charles Opoku, on the other hand, garnered 12,630 of the votes cast, representing 42.17 per cent while Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) secured 87 votes.

Tuesday’s election was marked by electoral malpractices such as bribery and vote-buying, as well as the arrest of some recalcitrants who posed as security officers.

For the opposition National Democratic Congress, their candidate’s victory drums home the dissatisfaction in the incumbent government by the people of Assin North due to the lack of developmental projects.

Assin North only observed the rehabilitation of some bad roads by the government a few weeks towards the by-election.

However, the government refuted claims suggesting that the initiative was to influence the electorate to swing towards the government.

For over two years, Assin North Constituency could not boast of a stable representative in Parliament, as Mr Quayson, who emerged winner in the 2020 Assin North Parliamentary election, was dragged to court by one Michael Ankomah Nimfah for contesting while in possession of Canadian and Ghanaian citizenship.

The Cape Coast High Court after hearing both the petitioner and respondent in July 2021, nullified the Assin North election on the basis that Mr Quayson had dual citizenship.

Nonetheless, Mr Quayson continued to parade himself as a legislator, prompting the petitioner to take his case to the Supreme Court for interpretation of Article 94 (2) (a).

In April 2022, the apex court instructed Mr Quayson to stop holding himself as an elected MP until the determination of the suit challenging his election.

The court also ordered him to abstain from any Parliamentary business and also refrain from engaging in activities pertaining to an MP. Mr Quayson's lawyers subsequently filed an appeal but the Supreme Court dismissed it.

In its ruling on May 17, the Supreme Court directed Parliament to expunge Mr Quayson’s name from its records, arguing that it would not ignore the submissions on the continued disregard of the orders of the High Court which have not been suspended or overturned.

According to the court, allowing Mr Quayson to remain in the capacity as MP “will be an indictment of the administration of justice.”

Following this, Parliament declared the Assin North seat vacant and a by-election was scheduled by the Electoral Commission (EC).

The NDC believes their triumph in the by-election is a stepping stone to an assured victory in the upcoming polls.

Despite Mr Quayson’s re-election, he risks losing his freedom as he has been accused of forgery and perjury related to certain offenses during the lead-up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election.

An Accra High Court has ruled that the trial involving James Gyakye Quayson will proceed on a day-to-day basis starting from Tuesday, July 4, 2023.