Assin North MP's appeal challenging High Court Judgment struck out
Quoting the celebrated British Judge, Lord Denning, Justice Irene Charity Larbi noted “You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.”
An appeal case by the embattled Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyekye Quayson has been struck out by the Court of Appeal for want of compliance with the court’s procedure.
The suit was filed by the MP challenging the Judgment of the Cape Coast High Court presided over by Justice Kwasi-Boakye.
In July 2021, a Cape Coast High Court annulled the 2020 Parliamentary Election for the Assin North Constituency and perpetually restrained James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself as the MP for the Assin North Constituency.
On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the presiding judge, Irene Charity Larbi JA while delivering her judgment, noted that the appellant, James Quayson had failed to submit his written submission within the stipulated time thus ordered all applications before the panel in the name of the MP to be struck out.
Quoting the celebrated British Judge, Lord Denning, Justice Larbi noted “You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.”
At the last court sitting, Tsatsu Tsikata, counsel for the MP, wondered why the court of Appeal had decided to resort to C.I. 47 in dealing with a pending application for stay of execution.
Prior to the above, it is also on record that Mr. Quayson had been given a certificate of non-compliance by the court through the Registrar in January relative to a Form 6 on notice of dispatch of records to the court.
By this, the MP had a period of 21 days within which to file his written submission but failed thus the certificate of non-compliance.
The Court has meanwhile ordered all applications relating to Hon James Quayson’s appeal to be struck out.
Mr. Quayson polled 17,498 votes against 14,793 by the New Patriotic Party's (NPP's) Ms. Abena Durowaa Mensah in the December 7, 2020, parliamentary election.
However, on December 30, 2020, a resident of Assin North, Mr. Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, filed a parliamentary election petition at the Cape Coast High Court to challenge the eligibility of Mr. Quayson to be a Member of Parliament (MP).
He contended that the MP was not eligible on the basis that at the time he (Hon. Quayson) filed his nomination to contest as a parliamentary candidate, he was still a citizen of Canada.
Furthermore, he argued that such an act was against the express provision of Article 94 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 9(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1992 (PNDCL 284).
Among other reliefs, the applicant prayed the Cape Coast High Court to declare the nomination filed by Mr. Quayson “illegal, void and of no legal effect”.
He also sought a declaration that the decision by the EC to clear Mr. Quayson to contest as a parliamentary candidate was “illegal, void and of no legal effect”.
Again the applicant prayed the court for orders to restrain Mr. Quayson from holding himself as the MP-elect for Assin North and canceling the parliamentary election that took place in Assin North on December 7, 2020, respectively.
In its ruling, the court upheld the petitioner's prayer that the election of Hon. Quayson was in contravention of Act 94(2) and Section 92(A) of the Representation of People’s Act(PNDCL 284).
