Injuncted Assin North MP-elect Permitted To Vote For Speaker

Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Nsiah granted the Assin North MP-elect, James Gyakye Quayson the go-ahead to participate in the election of a Speaker for the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic despite the injunction against him.

The Clerk permitted the MP- elect to partake in the election despite his initial confirmation of receiving the writ of an injunction granted against the Assin North MP-elect by a Cape Coast High Court preventing him from participating in the proceedings of the house.

Prior to this decision, the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Nsiah intimated that, he was unable to recognize Member of Parliament-elect of Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson as a member of the house by law.

He noted that, it followed his confirmation of receiving the writ of an injunction granted against the Assin North MP-elect, after MP-elect of the Efutu Constituency, Alexander Afenyo Markin had made enquiries to that effect during the inauguration of the 8th Parliament.

“I was duly served and I am therefore unable to recognize James Quayson for the purposes of the election of Speaker.”

However, MP-elect for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu argued that, Mr. Quayson is yet to be served the writ of injunction from the court thus should be allowed to participate in the proceedings of the house till he’s formally served.

“Under the circumstances, let him err on the side of law and bear the consequences in court. So, let him take the oath because he’s not been served any process.”

The MP-elect’s injunction came about after a petition was filed by one Michael Ankomah, purporting that, the MP-elect still held on to his Canadian citizenship when he was filing to contest in the December polls.

Mr. Quayson, the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) MP-elect, polled 17,498 while the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Madam Abena Durowaa Mensah had 14,793 in the December 7, 2020 election.

But giving his ruling on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the presiding judge, Justice Kwasi Boakye said Mr. Quayson was restrained from holding himself out as Member of Parliament-elect for the Assin North constituency within the Central Region of the Republic of Ghana and further presenting himself to be sworn in as Member of Parliament-elect as such until the final determination of the petition.

The current development will whittle the numbers of MPs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) by one and this will leave NDC with 136 MPs while the NPP will still have 137 MPs.

Prior to this, the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Members of Parliament also occupied the majority side of the house instead of their seats.

Clad in white, they took occupancy in a switch fashion, insisting that they won majority of parliamentary seats at the polls, as the seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic drifted into dissolution at midnight.

The Electoral Commission declared 137 seats each for the NDC and New Patriotic Party (NPP). The Assin North MP (NDC) has been injuncted by a Cape Coast High Court, giving the NPP one seat Majority, the slimmest in the parliamentary history of Ghana.