Renowned pollster Ben Ephson has said that the yet-to-be conducted by-election in the Assin North constituency will be a test of popularity between the two major political parties; the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to him, the 2020 general elections were an indication that the Ghanaian voter has matured and therefore, this can be a closely contested by-election.
“The NDC will view it as a test of their popularity and it’ll also be viewed as a test of the government’s popularity.
“So, the NPP lost the seat and I think that Gyakye won because of the father’s popularity. Now, if there’s a by-election and Gyakye decides to contest and NDC wins it, they’ll say it’s a continuation of their strength and maybe a reflection of the government.
“I think that if the NPP wins the by-election, they will have more political advantage that ‘if you say we’re not doing well, we’ve taken a seat, we’ve won’,” Ephson told Asaase News’s Caleb Ahinakwah.
“I think that one of the principles of the 2020 [general] elections has been that or it tells you that the Ghanaian voter has matured and the swing voters are a lot. So, the by-election itself will be interesting and will have a lot of political fall-outs,” he said.
Court ruling
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday (13 April 2022) that James Gyakye Quayson cannot hold himself as the Member of Parliament for Assin North in the Central Region.
The seven-member panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse reached a 5:2 majority decision to injunct Quayson, whose position as an MP has been in dispute since he assumed his seat in January 2021, from going to Parliament.
We’re not happy
Ayariga said that the Minority is not pleased with the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision because it reduces their numbers and advantage in Parliament.
“We are not happy because one of our colleagues is being asked not to hold himself out as a Member of Parliament, that reduces our number and we naturally are not happy. For the Minority, the reduction in the number is the main thing and I think that we have been able to block a number of things using our number.”
Quayson not to hold himself as MP
Justices Jones Dotse, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkornoo, Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu and Yonny Kulendi were the five Supreme Court judges who granted the injunction application, while Justices Agnes Dordzie and Nene Amegatcher dissented.
“The MP is restrained from holding himself as MP for Assin North and restrained from attending Parliament to conduct business on behalf of Assin North,” the presiding judge ruled.
Question of allegiance
Quayson, in spite of a high court judgment that declared his election as an MP in the 2020 parliamentary election unconstitutional, continued to hold himself as a Member of Parliament and was seen attending sittings of the House and carrying out his parliamentary duties.
Displeased with his actions, the petitioner in the high court action, Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking an order to injunct Quayson. He also sought an interpretation of Article 94 (2a) of the 1992 constitution of the republic, which states that “a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he – (a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana.”
The injunction order of the Supreme Court will remain in force until the final determination of the application seeking interpretation of Article 94 (2a).
Nicholas Brown
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