You lack jurisdiction in Assin North 2020 Parliamentary polls – Tsatsu tells Supreme Court

Lawyers for the embattled Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, filed a supplement to their statement of the case in the Supreme Court following the order of the court on Tuesday.

The Assin North MP had been given 14 days to file a supplement to his statement of case by the Supreme Court but filed the day after and has written to the Registrar to have the case listed before the legal vacation.

His lawyers insist that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the originating writ seeking to invalidate the Assin North 2020 Parliamentary elections.

“The broad ground of the application to strike out the writ is that this court lacks jurisdiction as determined by previous decisions of this court”, the Supplement Statement of Case filed for the embattled MP, Mr. Quayson indicated.

“The first aspect of this grounds, which is referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 of the affidavit in support of the application is that this court has previously decided that by virtue of article 99 of the Constitution and section 16 of the Representation of People Act (PNDCL 284), it has no jurisdiction to entertain a suit that involves invalidating the results of a parliamentary election. Even if dressed up as an invocation of the original jurisdiction of this court under article 130 or a suit for the enforcement of the Constitution under article 2, this court does not have jurisdiction.” Relying on the case of Yeboah v JH Mensah, Bimpong-Buta vs General Legal Council among others, Mr. Tsikata prayed the court to strike out the originating writ before them.

“In view of the obvious urgency of this case, particularly its significance for the representation in Parliament of Ghanaians in the Assin North Constituency, we respectfully ask the case be listed before the vacation.”

James Gyakye Quayson, an NDC candidate got 17,498 votes representing (55.21%) and Abena Durowaa Mensah, an NPP candidate had 14,193 representing (44.79%) in the 2020 elections.

However, the sworn-in MP, Hon Quayson has been petitioned to annul his elections on grounds he holds dual citizenship, which he has denied as factual.

One Michael Ninfa, a teacher and resident of Yamoransa in the Central Region had filed an interlocutory motion and urged the Supreme Court to bar the lawmaker from holding himself out as MP.

His application originated from the decision of the Cape Coast High Court dated July 21, 2021, that nullify the 2020 Assin North Parliamentary election because Mr. Quayson, a Canadian citizen, failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time he picked nomination forms to contest the election.