Member of NDC legal team, Abraham Amaliba
A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has said that his party will win the Assin North by-election if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) do not use thugs to intimidate voters.
“I have told Nana Akufo-Addo not to send hoodlums and blood sucking people to the place as they did in Ayawaso. If they don’t do that we will win the seat.”
“The good people of Assin North also know how difficult the country is now,” Mr Amaliba said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 31.
The Assin North seat has become vacant after the Cape Coast High Court annulled the parliamentary election results of 2020 in that constituency.
A cost of 10, 000 has been awarded against the Electoral commission and 30 thousand against Mr 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.
A private legal practitioner and law lecturer at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) Justice Abdulai has said that he foresees a criminal prosecution being initiated against the Assin North lawmaker Joe Gyekye Quayson whose election has been cancelled by the Cape Coast High Court.
Asked whether he can contest again for the seat in the by-election, Justice Abdullai said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 31 that “I foresee the state coming after him. This is a pure criminality. It has happened to Adamu Sakande and I do not see any different treatment in this as well. So he may not be able to contest again.”
Regarding this, Mr Amaliba responded by saying “If the judgment of the court is what we are going by there will be nominations and he has the certificate. People have thought that he was sitting down with a foreign nationality, so he is qualified. With the issue of he being prosecuted. On what basis? Deceit of public officer. How will it be a deceit of public officer if the EC itself which is the public officer called him and okayed him. I give you my certificate, you were not sleeping, you looked at it and you said it is Okay then you turn around say I have deceived you.
“In fact even if he is being prosecuted he can still contest and we will take this seat.”
James Gyakye Quayson has charged his supporters and, by extension, all sympathetic Ghanaians not to be worried by events on Wednesday, July 28 at the Cape Coast High Court.
He insinuates that the judgement by Justice Kwasi Boakye annulling results of the December 7, 2020 Parliamentary Elections is as a result of “dark machinations of an elite few”.
He assured his supporters that “I am in high spirit and confident that this momentary travesty shall rather make us emerge stronger”.
These were contained in a statement he issued on Thursday, July 29.
“Our massive victory in Assin North on December 7, 2020 was a pure and legitimate one handed over to us by the discerning people of Assin North and we shall resist every attempt to subvert the true will of the people,” he stated.
“Victory from the masses is far superior to the dark machinations of an elite few.”
He expressed gratitude to chiefs and people of Assin North as well as the rank and file of his party for their support over the last 24 hours.
“The solidarity from the rank and file of the NDC and the general public as a whole has renewed my confidence in a brighter future for this country regardless of the treacherous momentary setbacks.”
He charged his supporters not to be discouraged and that “the confirmation of our historic victory beckons”.