Gyakye Quayson ouster: I would have dissented if I were on Supreme Court panel - Dormaahene

The Traditional ruler of the Dormaa Traditional Area, and President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has voiced his opposition to the Supreme Court ruling that ousted James Gyakye Quayson as Member of Parliament in May.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II expressed his disagreement with the initial ruling by the Supreme Court that nullified Gyakye Quayson's mandate due to his dual citizenship status.

Speaking at the 10th Atta Mills Anniversary lecture that took place over the weekend, the Dormaahene made it clear that he would have taken a different position if he had been sitting as a member of the panel.

“I will like to talk about an Honourable person who was a citizen of Canada. He said he was not willing to stay in Canada, he dropped his citizenship and returned to Ghana to help. When he got here, he had a bit of a challenge and the Supreme Court ruled that his mandate as an MP should be nullified,” he said.

“Some of us were not happy with that. If I were on the Supreme Court, I would have taken a left position and not the right. The reason why I will opt for the left will raise another issue so I will not say it,” he added.

The traditional ruler called upon the President and the Attorney General to drop the charges filed against the MP in the high court. Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II argued that Quayson's overwhelming victory in the Assin North elections, where he secured 57.56% of the votes, should be taken into account.

He highlighted the fact that a by-election was held subsequent to Quayson's removal from parliament, during which he was re-elected by a significant majority, indicating the strong support he enjoys from his constituents.

“But I am pleading with the Attorney General of Ghana. As we know the constitution permits him to discontinue any case in the interest of the public.

“When the man [Gyakye Quayson] had his name expunged from parliament, didn’t they go to vote again? Was he voted for or not? Didn’t he get an overwhelming majority, 57.56%, is that a mere victory?” he asked.

The NPP lost Assin North by-election to NDC’s James Gyakye Quayson who has been sworn in as Member of Parliament for the constituency after the Electoral Commission declared him a winner in the election held on June 27, 2023, following the conclusion of the by-election.

According to the Electoral Commission's announcement, James Gyakye Quayson garnered a total of 17,245 votes, representing 57.56% of the total votes cast.

His closest contender, Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), received 12,630 votes, accounting for 42.15% of the votes. Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party Ghana (LPG) secured 87 votes, which represented 0.29% of the overall tally.

The by-election in Assin North was held to fill the parliamentary seat left vacant following a legal battle that questioned Quayson's eligibility to hold office due to dual citizenship concerns.

However, Gyakye Quayson is facing five counts of among others perjury and deceiving a public official in the filing processes to contest for the 2020 parliamentary elections at a time he was said to have held dual citizenship, that of Ghana and of Canada.

Mr Yao Boafo, please pay attention to this also… pic.twitter.com/ppIDf6ambc

— kwame agbodza (@KAgbodza) July 2, 2023