Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, has expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated James Gyakye Quayson’s election as the MP for the Assin North constituency.
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, unanimously declared as unconstitutional the election of James Gyakye Quayson as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Assin North constituency and instructed Parliament to remove Mr. Quayson’s name from its records as an MP for Assin North.
The case was brought to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of Quayson’s election due to allegations that he owed allegiance to Canada.
Speaking in an interview with reporters, Mr. Ayariga shared his concerns, stating that he and others had hoped for a more progressive interpretation of the Constitution by the court. He expressed disappointment with the court’s position that the determination of an MP’s status should be made at the time of filing nominations, rather than at the point of being sworn in.
Ayariga criticized the Supreme Court saying it hastily issued the directive without providing the full judgment on the case.
“I have been a critique of the Supreme Court taking decisions without reasoning and even allowing time before they give judgment. In politically charged cases, it will do the Supreme Court image good if they took their time to give the decision and the reasoning at the same time so that it will not allow for all sort of interpretations,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Evans Nimako, the Director of Elections for the New Patriotic Party, has praised the Supreme Court’s declaration that the 2020 parliamentary election in Assin North was null and void.
