Gyakye Quayson files for review of Supreme Court order

Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency James Gyakye Quayson has filed for a review of the May 17 order by the Supreme Court to have his name expunged from all records of Parliament.

The review was filed at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 5.

According to lawyers of the MP, the judgement was “fundamentally and basically in error” in, among others, assuming jurisdiction to interpret Article 94(2) of the 1992 Constitution after it had determined that the Court had previously interpreted same.

The review also seeks to question the time of nomination adopted by the justices as the time for determining whether allegiance is owed to a country other than Ghana for purposes of applying Article 94(2)a of the Constitution.

It also said the Supreme Court judgement was fundamentally erroneous in ordering Parliament to expunge the name of Gyakye Quayson without giving him a hearing “and with no consideration as to the constitutionality of such a direction having regard to the constitutional structure and procedure of Parliament”.

Already, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has expressed difficulty in carrying out the directive of the Court in expunging the name of the MP from its records.

He, however, declared the seat vacant and a by-election was held by the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) on Tuesday, June 27.

Mr Gyakye Quayson, who was selected by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as its Parliamentary Candidate won the polls, beating New Patriotic Party’s Charles Opoku and Liberal Party of Ghana’s Bernice Enyonam Sefenu.

Mr Gyakye Quayson was sworn in on Tuesday, July 4, exactly a week after his victory.