Private Legal Practitioner, Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe says the injunction of embattled Member of Parliament for Assin North, Gyakye Quayson, has created a constitutional “crisis”.
According to him, the decision to injunct the legislator was not sound and creates a vacuum where ordinarily there should be none.
The Supreme Court has, in a majority 3-2 decision, ruled that Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, can no longer perform Parliamentary duties.
This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court.
However, speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Edudzi Tamakloe noted that the injuncting of Gyakye Quayson from performing his Parliamentary duties leaves the people of Assin North without a substantive representative till such a time that the case is determined.
Comparing the Gyakye Quayson case to a Presidential election petition, he said, “The Supreme Court is the forum for dealing with Presidential elections. Have you ever seen in any Presidential election where allegations of constitutional breaches and violations of our electoral laws are made that the President is injuncted?
“Have you seen that before? We’ve had two Presidential elections in this country. Have you seen the mere filing of a petition against a President that he has been injuncted from performing that function?
“This is an electoral dispute. There is sound policy reason why you don’t injunct the President. In fact, for constitutional officeholders they’re barely injuncted because in doing the evaluation of the balance and act you look, this is a plaintiff – Nimfa, this is the MP, now you have created a constitutional ‘crisis’.
“Until this writ is determined, the people of Assin North are left without representation. How do you fill the lacuna?”
Meanwhile, Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has disagreed with the Attorney General’s assertion that the Electoral Commission (EC) can hold a by-election in Assin North following the apex court’s ruling on Wednesday.
He explained that the EC cannot hold any by-election at the moment until the substantive case at the Supreme Court is dealt with.
“That is not possible. The Supreme Court, when adjourning today, said the substantive matter has been adjourned sinedial until that matter is disposed of, nobody should be talking about by-election and how did they come to that conclusion,”
Mr Amaliba’s comment was in reaction to the Attorney General’s assertion that the Electoral Commission (EC) can declare the Assin North Constituency seat vacant following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday morning.
Speaking to the press shortly after court proceedings, Godfred Dame said, “the High Court has ruled, given a judgment and determined the status of the gentleman as not qualified to have stood for election and had actually cancelled the election conducted in the Assin North constituency.
“The Court of Appeal subsequently struck out his appeal for non-compliance with the rules of the Court of Appeal.”
He, therefore, said since there is no appeal pending, “the way is clear.” “In my view, there should be nothing in the way of the Electoral Commission to declare the seat vacant,” he added.
