James Gyakye-Quayson has been defended by Abraham Amiliba, the NDC party’s Director of Legal Affairs, as the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) candidate for the Assin North by-election.
Despite being charged with a crime, Amaliba thinks Gyakye Quayson is the best person to give the NDC the victory in the constituency.
Amaliba stated that supporting Gyakye-Quayson is a risk worth taking.
Amaliba further asserted that following the Supreme Court’s decision, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) hurriedly filed criminal proceedings against Gyakye-Quayson because the NPP was concerned about him being a threat.
“Putting Gyakye-Quayson is a risk worth taking,” Mr Amaliba said, adding, “The prosecution must prove that he had a criminal mind, so the bar is high and that is why I would advise my General Secretary to put him up because he is a strong candidate for the constituency.”
“They [NPP] are afraid of him and that is why when the Supreme Court ruled they quickly tried to cripple him by slapping criminal charges against him, thinking we as a political party will abandon him so that they would have a field day.”
Amaliba
On June 1, James Gyakye-Quayson formally announced his intention to run in the Assin North by-election set for June 27. As a result of the Supreme Court invalidating his election in the 2020 elections due to his dual citizenship, he was previously expelled from Parliament and had his name deleted from the records of the legislative body.
However, he runs for the position once again on the ticket of the NDC.
Assin North Under Development Before By-Election
Gary Nimako, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Director of legal affairs, rejected assertions that the current events in Assin North are connected to the approaching by-election.
Mr. Nimako highlighted that it is merely coincidence that the timing of the developments coincides with the Electoral Commission’s announcement of the by-election.
“We have always been working at Assin North, it is not because of by-election. We knew from day one that this gentleman [Gyakye Quayson] was not qualified, he wasn’t eligible to contest the election. So the Chiefs and Opinion Leaders approached the executives and put their concerns regarding roads before them and it was done for them and it is still ongoing.
“So it is not necessarily the declaration of the by-election by the EC that prompted the executives to go there to do any development work. It is an ongoing project.”
Gary Nimako
However, residents of Assin Bereku, the district capital of Assin North, have begun to wonder whether the impending by-election may be an opportunity to address long-standing problems with neglected infrastructure. This assumption has been fuelled by recent repairs to some roads in Assin Bereku.
However some residents of the constituency have expressed their disgust towards the road construction just because the governing NPP-administration wants to gain power in Assin North. A resident said; “We are not surprised by the road construction. We express gratitude to James Gyakye Quayson for exerting pressure on the government. Just as mankind benefited from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, James Gyakye Quayson has had a similar impact.”
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