Some leading National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) at the weekend descended on towns and villages within the Assin North Constituency in a renewed effort to get James Gyakye Quayson elected in the June 27 bye-election.
Nicknamed the “Church to Church, Market to Market” campaign, it was led by the MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; MP for South Dayi, Joyce Tetteh, and MP for Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey.
The MPs and the team that accompanied them toured towns and villages within the constituency which has become the hotspot for political activities following the declaration of the Assin North seat as vacant by Parliament.
Message
Their message to the electorate was to support and elect Mr Quayson as the MP in the upcoming bye-election to undo what they claimed was an injustice when the Supreme Court rendered his election in the 2020 parliamentary election null and void.
“It was a successful house-to-house, church-to-church, market-to-market campaign at the Assin North Constituency in the Central Region.
“This is in support of the NDC candidate James Gyakye Quayson in the June 27 bye-election,” Ms Affo-Toffey wrote on her Facebook page.
Background
In its judgment in the case of Michael Ankomah Nimfah vs James Gyakye Quayson, the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Attorney-General on May 17, 2023, the Supreme Court ordered Parliament to expunge Mr Quayson’s name as a sitting MP from its records.
The court held that the whole process leading to the election of Mr Quayson — filing of nomination forms, the election itself and swearing-in were all in violation of Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution, which bars a person with dual citizenship from contesting as an MP.
It was the considered view of the court that as of the time Mr Quayson filed his nomination forms in October 2020 to contest the Assin North seat, he had not renounced his Canadian citizenship and, therefore, was not qualified per Article 94(2) (a) of the Constitution.
In view of that, the court further held that the EC also violated Article 94(2) (a) of the Constitution when it permitted Mr Quayson to contest the election.
Parliament
Following the judgment, Parliament wrote to the EC to notify it of the vacancy in the Assin North Constituency.
Consequently, the EC set June 27, 2023, for a bye-election in the Assin North Constituency.
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