NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter disagrees with Cape Coast High Court's decision

The NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter led by its Chairman Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba has expressed their disagreement on the Cape Coast High Court's decision to grant an injunction against National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Assin North, Mr. James Gyakye Quayson.

In a press release signed by Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba, he threw the full support of the chapter to President John Dramani Mahama to challenge the results of the Presidential election at the Supreme Court of Ghana and also commended the National leadership of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) for also challenging some results from the Parliamentary elections namely Techiman South and Sene West.

Read The Full Press Release Below:

THE NDC- UK & IRELAND CHAPTER DISAGREES WITH THE CAPE COAST HIGH COURT’S DECISION TO GRANT AN INJUNCTION AGAINST NDC MP ELECT FOR ASSIN NORTH MR JAMES GYAKYE QUAYSON.

The NDC- UK & Ireland Chapter wholeheartedly supports the decision of President John Mahama to challenge the results of the Presidential election at the Supreme Court of Ghana, and the decision of national leadership National Democratic Congress to challenge the results of some parliamentary elections - notably, Techiman South and Sene West and we equally respect the rights of NPP and other political actors to do same.

Despite the recent mind-boggling judicial verdicts, we still believe that seeking redress through the courts is the best option. This is because our political tradition birthed the Fourth Republic and our longest attempt to consolidate democracy and rule of law in Ghana and we will do nothing to jeopardize our democratic dispensation and rule of law in Ghana.

However, as citizens and not spectators, we have a duty to publicly express our disagreement with the Wenchi High Court’s ruling on Techiman South Constituency and Assin North Constituency as our contribution to the on-going public discourse and national conversation on the delivery of justice in Ghana.

We are mindful of the fact that; the facts of these two cases are not the same, but the commonalities of these two cases cannot be ignored. In the case of Techiman South, NDC’s application for Exparte injunction to restrain NPP’s parliamentary candidate Mr. Martin Korsah from holding himself as MP-elect was declined albeit there was no proper votes collation and proper declaration of the winner of parliamentary elections in Techiman South by the EC.

The High Court Judge who presided over the Techiman South constituency case said among other things that the people of Techiman South need to be represented in Parliament and Mr. Korsah can carry on as MP-elect and subsequently as MP for Techiman South until the conclusion of the case - whereas in the case of Mr. James Gyakye Quayson NDC- MP-elect for Assin North, the Cape Coast High Court granted an injunction against Mr. Quayson because his Ghanaian citizenship is being challenged and by so doing, denied the good of people of Assin North representation in Parliament.

Why the High Court Judge in Cape Coast did not refuse the application for an injunction and has denied Mr. Quayson the MP-elect to represent the people of Assin North pending the outcome of the case challenging his citizenship and eligibility to stand as Member of Parliament in Ghana beats our imagination. One would ask, "are the rights of people of Techiman South more important than the rights of the people of Assin North?"

The NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter can best describe the inconsistencies in these similar cases as a selective and discriminatory application of rule of law. What is even more befuddling is that when NDC lawyers went to the court immediately after the Assin North ruling to file for a stay of execution, the staff at the court registry were mysteriously nowhere to be found.

There is this perception that the ruling government's relationship with independent institutions is a cause for concern. And it is our fervent hope that the judiciary will do all it can to maintain its fairness and impartiality at all times.

Thank you