Banned NDC MP files for review of Supreme Court ruling
James Gyekye Quayson, the Member of Parliament for Assin North, has requested a review of the Supreme Court order that barred him from serving as a legislator.
According to the NDC MP, the verdict, in his opinion, was riddled with flaws. He said “The majority decision was in obvious and fundamental error and breached Article 129(3) of the Constitution in assuming jurisdiction over the adjudication of the validity of a Parliamentary election and proceeding to grant the application for an interim injunction”
In a seven pointer lettered argument, Mr James Gyekye Quayson furthered that ”The majority decision was in patent and fundamental error in failing to appreciate that the suit was, in reality, an attempt to enforce the decisions of the High Court disguised as an invocation of the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Below are the remaining highlights of his protest against the supreme court ruling
“c. The majority decision was in patent and fundamental error in granting an order of interlocutory injunction pending the determination of the suit based on a High Court judgment and an earlier High Court interlocutory decision both of which, on their face, violated article 130(2) of the Constitution and, in the case of the judgment, also violated section 20(d) of the Representation of People’s Law, 1992, PNDC Law 284.
“d. The majority decision was in patent and fundamental error in granting an order of interlocutory injunction pending the determination of the suit when what the Applicant was seeking by this application was for the execution of decisions in the courts below and this error occasioned a gross miscarriage of justice against the 1st defendant/respondent.
“e. The majority decision was in patent and fundamental error in granting an order of interlocutory injunction pending the determination of the suit when the Applicant failed, prima facie, to demonstrate a legal or equitable right that ought to be protected by the court, thereby occasioning a gross miscarriage of justice against the 1st defendant/respondent.
“f. The majority decision violated articles 296(a) and (b) of the Constitution in exercising discretion unfairly and unreasonably.
“g. The decision to proceed with the hearing of application for the interim injunction brought under the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules C.I. 47 prior to the preliminary objection raised by the Applicant herein was per incuriam the binding precedents of Koglex v. Attieh [2003-2004] 1 SCGLR 75 and Ampofo v. Samanpa [2003-2004] 2 SCGLR 1155.”
On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ghana, by a 5-2 majority decision, ordered Mr Gyekye Quayso to resign as a lawmaker. Prof. Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkornoo, and Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi voted in favor, while Justices Agnes Dordzie and Nene Amegatcher dissented.
Mr Gyakye Quayson was previously deemed ineligible to run in the December 7, 2020, Parliamentary Elections by a Cape Coast High Court, presided over by Justice Coram Kwasi Boakye, since he held dual citizenship before picking up candidacy forms from the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC)
