Professor Kwaku Asare is a US-based Ghanaian lawyer and accountant
The Cape Coast High Court judge whose ruling annulled the 2020 Parliamentary election results in Assin North, made a mistake in his ruling, a United States based Ghanaian Professor, Kwaku Asare has said.
The Cape Court High court on Wednesday July 28 annulled the 2020 parliamentary election result.
A cost of 10, 000 has been awarded against the Electoral commission and 30 thousand against Joe Gyekye Quayson who until the cancellation of the result was the Assin North MP.
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.”
One Michael Ankoma-Nimfah, a mason and resident of Assin Bereku filed a petition against over dual citizenship.
Professor Asare in a Facebook post said “The Quayson court, as in the Sakande court, erred in interpreting Article 94(2)(a) and compounded the error by equating allegiance to citizenship.
“Natural born Ghanaians owe an indivisible, indelible and permanent allegiance to Ghana and Ghana only. Those interested in this can read Judge Coke in the famous Calvin case, as further restated by Blackstone. Or if you want something with ECOWAS flavor, see Dr. Willie Ogebide v. Mr. Arigbe Osula (2004) 12 NWLR Part 886.
“Article 94(2)(a) preceded Article 8(2), which allowed dual citizenship. It is misinterpretation on steroids to hold that Article 94(2)(a) was meant to disqualify dual citizens from holding public office when that same Constitution, prior to Act 527, outlawed dual citizenship.
“The Judge must stay his ruling and refer the matter to the Supreme Court for interpretation. It is because of these errors, motivated by the politicization of citizenship, that we have moved for the repeal of Article 94(2)(a) and other Articles, inserted in 1996, that allow dual citizenship but impose public-office holding restrictions unrelated to Article 94(2)(a).”
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has said that the courts are being used to tilt the balance of power in Parliament.
The Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of using the courts to attempt to win majority seats in Parliament.
He said there is an attempt to change the 137-137 seats for both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP by the governing party through the use of the courts.
Mr Iddrisu indicated that the NDC MPs will resist any such attempts by filing an appeal against the Cape Coast ruling that cancelled the 2020 parliamentary election results.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday July 28, he indicated that the courts are now being used to tilt the balance of power in Parliament following the equal numbers being controlled by both the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“We in the Minority remain unshaken, we are confident that is our seat and will remain our seat, and we will contest the ruling. The judge erred both in law and in fact. It is a travesty of justice but what is worrying, we don’t want to believe that the courts of Ghana have been captured and that the courts of Ghana have become forums being used surreptitiously to tilt the balance of power.
“We are equal, 137-137. What is happening is the courts now being used to tilt the balance of power and to weaken time tested historical notion of checks and balances. Justice must not only be done, but must be manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.”