The Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin is expected to give a verdict on a letter written by the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame requesting the Assin North seat to be declared vacant.
According to the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the AG’s office wrote to the Speaker for the seat to be declared vacant and a by-election held in light of the recent Supreme Court judgment.
The apex court in a ruling a fortnight ago, ordered Parliament to expunge James Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records after it found that he failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the 2020 Assin North parliamentary elections.
Disclosing the contents of the letter from the AG during last Friday’s vetting ofJustice Gertrude Torkonoo, the Chief Justice nominee, Dr Forson said “I received a letter from the office of the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice, the letter was addressed to the Right Honourable Speaker, Parliament of Ghana, Accra and I was in copied with the minority leader.”
“The third paragraph on the second page reads, the effect of this judgment of the Supreme Court is that the election of Mr James Gyakye Quayson as a member of parliament of Assin North constituency is unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect.”
“The final order of the supreme court for parliament to expunge the name of Mr James Gyakye Quayson means that parliament is to completely remove any record relating to him as an MP and implies that a vacancy has occurred in relation to the Assin North Constituency,” the letter stated.
