Parliament Declares Assin North Seat Vacant

Parliament has written to the Electoral Commission (EC) declaring the Assin North seat vacant.

According to sources in Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah wrote to the EC on Monday, May 29.

Per the sources, the letter was based on the recent ruling and orders of the Supreme Court.

This vacancy will require a by-election.

The apex court ordered Parliament to expunge James Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records after it concluded that he failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.

Presiding Judge Justice Jones Dotse on Wednesday, May 17, ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) acted unconstitutionally in allowing him to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections without proof of him renouncing his Canadian citizenship.

This is in the case filed by a resident of the constituency, Michael Ankomah Nimfah.

Mr Nimfah had asked the court to rule that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, at the time Mr Quayson filed his nomination form in October 2020 to contest the 2020 Parliamentary elections for the Assin North constituency, he was not qualified to contest a member of Parliament.

This provision of the constitution provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana.

The court in a unanimous decision ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified at the time of filing his nomination forms.

It further held that the EC allowing him to contest when he had not shown evidence of renunciation of his citizenship of Canada was unconstitutional.

His name was to be expunged from records of the house, and his seat to be declared vacant to allow for a by-election.