Supreme Court’s Ruling On Assin North MP A ‘Travesty Of Justice’ - Mahama

Former President John Mahama has described Supreme Court’s ruling that barred the Assin North MP, Mr Gyakye Qayson, also from performing parliamentary duties as a misrepresentation of justice. The 2020 NDC flagbearer, in a social media post on Thursday, said the apex court’s ruling is also a deliberate display of disrespect to the

country’s democracy. The representation of the people is at the heart of our democracy. Therefore, any decision that denies the citizenry of representation is a travesty of justice and an affront to our democracy, Mr Mahama said. In a majority 5-2 decision on Wednesday, April 13, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Gyakye Quayson can no

longer perform parliamentary duties.This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court. But Mr Mahama has questioned the legality of the ruling when there is a substantive case pending before the Supreme Court on the legitimacy of the Assin North MP. He thus suspects the substantive

case before the apex court has already been ruled against Mr Quayson. I cannot understand how an MP can be restrained from carrying out his duties when the substantive case to give finality to the question of his legitimacy has not been determined. Or is it the case the outcome of substantive case has been predetermined

against him? Mahama quizzed. Meanwhile, the Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice said the embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, should also be made to face the same fate as the former New Patriotic Party’s Adamu Sakende. The late Adamu Sakende was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for owing allegiance

to Ghana and the Burkina Faso when he contested the election to be Bawku Central MP, which he subsequently won.Godfred Dame believes that the cases are the same hence similar principles must be applied, and the law ought to be equally applied in the case of James Gyakye Quayson. I think there ought to be an even application of

the law, the same fate that befell Adamu Sakande, who was not qualified at the time that nominations were opened, and we all know what happened to him Adamu Dramani Sakande found himself in a similar situation. As a result, he was not qualified by the time nominations were opened and was subsequently declared ineligible,

and, for that matter, his seat was taken away. So there has to be an even application of the law. If it happened to Adamu Sakande of the NPP, it should also happen to a gentleman of the NDC who finds himself in the same situation. However, CDD Fellow, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, is also confident the Court will call for by

elections for the constituency. As result, he has advised the Assin North MP to officially resign and run for the bye-election.He further urged the legislator to try and win the election to “show us how wrong we do things and how inconsistent, and how incoherent our jurisprudence has become.