The Member of Parliament for the Assin North Constituency in the Central Region, James Gyakye Quayson, has filed his statement of case as directed by the Supreme Court in response to a petition filed against him by Michael Ankomah-Ninfah.
Mr. Quayson in his statement asked the apex court to describe the petition as frivolous, vexatious, an abuse of court processes and in bad faith.
He also described the petitioner’s case as “blatant forum shopping” and should not be countenanced by the Supreme Court.
“This court should, with respect, not allow any litigant to act in such bad faith and engage in blatant forum shopping in instituting a new action for the determination of a matter already before another panel of this Court and also pending before other lower courts. The Plaintiff, while urging the panel of the Supreme Court before whom 1st Defendant’s application to quash the decision of the Court of Appeal, Cape Coast, and for the Supreme Court to refer to itself the interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the Constitution was pending, rot to make the reference, issues a new writ to be put before another panel of the court.”
The embattled legislator argued that the new writ seeks to obtain what is already pending before another panel of the Supreme Court.
“This is unacceptable forum shopping, and it would set a dangerous precedent if such conduct should be countenanced by this court. The writ filed invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is simply an abuse of the process of court. Plaintiff is not engaged in a genuine quest for an authoritative interpretation from this court of a constitutional provision. Rather, under the guise of an invocation of the original jurisdiction of this court he is seeking reliefs which are the subject matter of the pending suits in the lower courts, as well as this court. What Plaintiff is seeking in the election petition that he instituted against the 1st Defendant is clearly the process that this court ought to have him continue pursuing as against this new suit,” Mr. Quayson added in the statement of case dated April 12, 2022.
Click here to read the statement of case filed by Gyakye Quayson
Background
Michael Ankomah-Nimfa, a resident of Assin Bereku in the Central Region, filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court seeking to annul the declaration of Mr. Gyakye Quayson as the MP Assin North.
Mr. Ankomah-Ninfa had insisted that Mr. Quayson had dual citizenship prior to filing nominations to contest for the Assin North parliamentary seat during the 2020 polls.
The Cape Coast High Court subsequently declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency as null and void, as it upheld that Mr. Quayson breached the provisions of the constitution with regard to dual citizenship.
Mr. Quayson subsequently appealed the judgment, at the Court of Appeal in Cape Coast, but the case was subsequently dismissed.
He again sought cover from the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court
Michael Ankomah-Nimfah also dragged the issue to the Supreme Court in a bid to have Mr. Quayson prevented from carrying himself as the MP for Assin North.
He filed a writ to invoke the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, seeking interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the Constitution.
Supreme Court to decide on Gyakye Quayson’s fate on April 13
The Supreme Court will on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, rule on the motion seeking to stop James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself out as the Member of Parliament for Assin North.
At the last hearing on April 5, 2022, the lawyer for Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, Frank Davis, said his client has established grievous breaches of the 1992 Constitution, and the other electoral laws against the disputed MP.
But Lead Counsel for Mr. Gyakye Quayson, Tsatsu Tsikata, who had raised a preliminary objection to the motion, argued that the Supreme Court rules did not provide for such motions and that the applicant should have sought leave from the Supreme Court to allow him to bring the motion.
