A Senior Lecturer at the Gimpa Faculty of Law, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, has said that embattled MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, is eligible to vote in any upcoming primaries and general elections if he so wishes to contest again for the position of a parliamentarian.
This comes after a seven-member panel Supreme Court ruling, ordered parliament to expunge the name of Mr. Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament.
In the ruling, the apex court barred Mr. Quayson from holding himself as a Member of Parliament for Assin North.
The ruling further noted that Mr. Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election in 2020.
But touching on the issue during an interview on TV3’s Ghana Tonight, Dr. Srem-Sai noted that Gyakye Quayson, who is said to have been issued his renunciation certificate after applying to renounce his Canadian citizenship, can no longer be disqualified if he attempts to contest again for the same seat.
According to him, information from the court indicates that the embattled MP received his certificate a month before the elections in December 2020 and therefore cannot be disqualified from running in another contest moving forward.
“Now the evidence from the court, if you read the court decision, it was clear that he wasn’t even having dual citizenship at the time of the election because his certificate was issued somewhere in November 2020, which is one month before the actual election and so from November 2020, he did not have dual citizenship.
“What this now means is that, he is now eligible, in other words, he cannot be disqualified from running for another election on grounds that he owes allegiance, unless of course, there is new evidence to prove that he owes some form of allegiance or that any of the other disqualifying factors apply to him.
“If we are talking about this specific fact of the Canadian citizenship and what led to his removal from parliament, we can say that, that situation is no longer and therefore he is eligible to contest on that ground,” Dr. Srem-Sai added.
Meanwhile, James Gyakye Quayson has since reacted, expressing disappointment in the court’s decision.
According to him, he renounced his Canadian citizenship, the moment he filed for a renunciation of same in December 2019 because per Canadian laws, allows for the disavowal of allegiance anytime once one’s renunciation is filed.
He also noted that once he applied for renunciation, he left Canada and therefore lost all rights of Canadian citizenship even before he picked up his renunciation certificate from the Canadian Embassy in November 2020.’
He however expressed appreciation to the people of Assin North for giving him the opportunity to serve and for the support showed him since hearing of his case began.
He also said he has turned the page on the matter and left it to the court of conscience.
You can also watch this episode of People & Places here:
Gyakye Quayson says he has turned the page on the matter