Dorcas Afo-Toffey and James Gyekye Quayson
The Court of Appeal in Cape Coast in the Central Region yesterday dismissed an application for stay of proceedings filed by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyekye Quayson, over his dual citizenship matter.
The embattled MP’s eligibility to represent Assin North is being challenged by one Michael Ankomah Nimfah, who is claiming that at the time Mr. Quayson filed his papers at the Electoral Commission to contest the 2020 parliamentary election, he had allegedly not renounced his Canadian citizenship as the laws mandated.
The appellate court dismissed the application yesterday, holding that there was nothing like stay of proceedings per the nature of the application filed by the MP.
Already, the MP has petitioned the Supreme Court by filing certiorari and prohibition applications to quash the decision of the high court because he claims the trial court refused to stay proceedings and refer a matter of constitutional interpretation to the highest court.
The Supreme Court is expected to sit today on the MP’s applications and he want the court to interpret Article 94 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution, which prohibits a person who holds citizenship of another country from contesting as MP in Ghana, as well as prohibit the high court judge, Justice Kwasi Boakye, from further hearing the case.
Changing Lawyers
Mr. Quayson has been changing lawyers in the case and his opponents in the NPP have said cynically that it was part of the attempt to delay the proceedings.
At the trial court in Cape Coast last week, a new lawyer, Justin Teriwagah, announced himself as representing the MP after Abraham Amaliba, one of the NDC lawyers, had abandoned the case.
Before Mr. Amaliba left the case, it was being handled by Victor Kojogah Adawusu, another NDC lawyer.
Teriwagah then moved a motion seeking to arrest a decision by the court, ordering the parties in the case, to file their written legal arguments for the court to make a decision.
He then relied on the case of Ex-parte Tsikata and prayed that some applications had been made to the Supreme Court for which reason the court should not read its judgment.
After he was asked to file his written address, the MP rather filed a motion for certiorari at the Supreme Court, asking it to quash the orders of a Cape Coast High Court which ordered him to file his written legal argument in the petition brought against his election.
As the Supreme Court was getting ready to sit on that aspect of the case, the NDC MP again filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal asking for a stay of proceedings at the Cape Coast High Court.
It was the stay of proceedings application that was dismissed by the appellate court yesterday.
Frank Davies assisted by Bright Okyere Agyekum, representing the petitioner, last week, responded that the MP’s application was unknown to the rules of court and even in the Tsikata’s case relied on, the court had read its judgment when the application was made.
In his ruling, Justice Kwasi Boakye said, there was no order barring the trial court from going ahead with an impending ruling but out of respect for the Supreme Court, it would wait for the outcome of the MP’s application to be heard today.
Main Petition
The petitioner, Michael Ankomah Nimfah, on January 6, 2021, applied for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the MP-elect from being sworn in and holding himself as MP for Assin North because he claimed the MP held Canadian citizenship.
The court granted the application, but in flagrant disregard for the court’s order, the MP-elect then was subsequently sworn in to be part of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth of Republic on January 7.
In the substantive petition challenging the qualification to be an MP, the petitioner intimated per Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution, the Representation of the People Law, Act 284 and the CI 127, Mr. Quayson was not qualified at the time of filing to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections and should be disqualified.
The petitioner had claimed that as at the time Mr. Quayson was filing his papers with the Electoral Commission to enable him to go to Parliament, he was holding dual citizenship (both Ghanaian and Canadian), which the 1992 Constitution expressly does not allow for all those aspiring to hold public office in Ghana.
The petitioners are therefore, asking the court to declare the Assin North Parliamentary Election null and void, and order fresh election.
MP Fights Back
The MP has fought back, arguing that it is not at the time of filing to contest that should be used to disqualify a candidate.
He insisted that once the application to renounce the citizenship was set in motion, it was deemed to be effective, and has also held that it is at the time of being sworn in as the MP, that the law applies.
By Ernest Kofi Adu