Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency, believes the Supreme Court should have ruled to allow the embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, to continue serving as a substantive MP until a final decision in a case challenging his eligibility to hold the office is made.
He believes there is no point in denying Mr. Quayson the opportunity to represent Assin North constituents while he is still exploring other legal options to challenge the case against him.
“It’s not as if he imposed himself on the electorate; they voted for him, and he won.” He is still investigating the various options available to him, so under those circumstances, I believe the court will rely on time-tested principles that allow the processes to play out before bringing the matter to a close. “What is the point of saying he should not represent the people because, as we speak, he is not a citizen of any other country?” Mahama Ayariga said on Eyewitness News.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, restrained Mr. Quayson from representing the people of Assin North until the final determination of a pending substantive case that avers that he held dual citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest in the 2020 elections contrary to law.
The ruling by the apex court has generated mixed reactions with some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) describing it as an aberration of justice.
The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, described the ruling as the enforcement the long-standing position of the constitution.
But Mahama Ayariga believes to the extent that Mr. Quayson still had other legal arsenals he can deploy to retain his seat, it was unfair for the court to direct that he steps aside.
“There is a possibility that there could be a change in the position of the Supreme Court on the matter, no matter how slim, [and so] that warrants that he continues to act until it is completely resolved.”
Mahama Ayariga said the current situation has dealt some blow to the numbers of the minority in parliament as there presently wouldn’t be any representative for Assin North in parliament.
Concerning talks about a possible by-election, he said anyone interested can trigger the processes if they want to.
“Strictly speaking, there is no MP for Assin North and anybody who wants to trigger the next processes would have to figure out how to trigger the processes,” he said.
