Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba has described the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Assin North MPs case, as bad.

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, in a majority 5-2 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.

In reaction, Mr Amaliba, speaking on Joy FM‘s Top Story, said denying the people of Assin North representation in Parliament is not an ideal situation.

According to him, the Supreme Court’s decision to bar the Assin North MP from performing Parliamentary duties means the constituents will join the people of SALL who are without representation.

“We can’t have a democracy where a chunk of your people are not represented and I think that in matters such as this, the decision is always to have representation and not rather to ensure that there is no representation and that is why I think that this ruling is a bad ruling,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Lawyer for the petitioner in the case against the Assin North MP, Mr. Frank Davies has opined that the constituents are better off without a representation in Parliament, because having an illegal person to lead them will be to their own disadvantage.

According to Mr. Davies, the Supreme Court’s directive that restrains Mr. James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself as the MP for the constituency, is a step in the right direction.

He argued that the right of representation is not a stricture by itself but one that is steeped in law; hence, it is wrong for the embattled lawmaker to have attended to parliamentary business.

“An illegible person running around as a Member of Parliament for a constituency when he is not; it obviously leads to a mutilation of the sovereign will of the people of Assin North.

“They are better off now without someone who is parading as a Member of Parliament whilst he is not, whilst we await the decision of this Court,” he told JoyNews in an interview after the Supreme Court ordered the MP on Wednesday to stop performing parliamentary duties.

Background

A Cape Coast High Court in July, 2021 nullified the election of Mr Quayson after it found he owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.

Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency who filed this election petition in January, 2022, initiated another action at the Supreme Court.

He urged the Court to give effect to the Cape Coast High Court Judgement and prevent a further breach of the constitution by restraining the MP.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court has finally ruled on the issue by barring the Assin North MP from performing any Parliamentary duty.