‘We’ll resist ploy to remove Assin North MP for the passage of E-levy – Minority

The Minority in Parliament says it will resist any move to tilt the balance of power in the house with the attempts to serve an injunction on National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Quayson.

There is an injunction application currently pending against the MP who is before the court in relation to allegations of contesting to be an MP when he had not renounced his Canadian citizenship.

But addressing the press in Parliament on Thursday, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said the move is a ploy to reduce the numbers of the Minority with a view to passing the controversial e-levy.

“We will simply not support E-levy. Nothing more. We shall continue with all our might to resist this desperation of the despotic Nana Addo Akufo-Addo regime and those use of crude Machiavelli tactics to reduce our numbers without respect to the rule of law and respect to our court hierarchy and its authority as an independent and neutral arbiter on these matters”.

“Any attempts to use the courts to tilt the balance of power will be the gravest danger to the sustenance of our democratic systems when we lose faith and confidence in the independence of the judiciary. So we pray and hope that they will not use the courts to tilt the balance of power in democratic laws, principles and ethos.”

James Quayson faces five counts
Meanwhile, the disputed NDC Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, is facing five counts of criminal offences even as the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, tries to get him out through the Supreme Court.

Court processes sighted by Citi News indicate that the state is going after him on charges of Deceit of public officer contrary to section 251 (b) of the Criminal offences Act, 1960, Act 29; Forgery of Passport or Travel Certificate, contrary to section 15 (1)(b) of Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967 (NLCD 155); and, Knowingly making a False Statutory Declaration in contravention of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1971, Act 389.

He also faces Perjury as per section 210 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29; and False Declaration for Office as against section 248 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday was unable to consider an injunction application against him to stop him from carrying out his duties as a Member of Parliament.

According to the facts of the present case as sighted, Mr. Quayson signed a Ghana passport application form on 26th July 2019, in which he professed Ghanaian citizenship while stating that he did not hold any other citizenship.

He is however said to have held Canadian citizenship, issued to him on 30th October 2016. The state, according to the processes sighted, says James Gyakye Quayson failed to declare the same on his application form.

The state contends that though his Ghanaian passport application form was vetted on 29th July 2019, he was issued with a Ghanaian passport (number G2538667) on 2nd August 2019 based on the false information together with other pieces of information he provided.

The state again contends that before the 7th December 2020 General Elections, Mr. Quayson picked up nomination forms to contest the Assin North seat at the time he held both Ghanaian and Canadian citizenship.

He was thus, accordingly disqualified under article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution, but stood on a statutory declaration sworn to on 6th October 2020, before the Assin Fosu District Court, stating that he did not owe allegiance to any country other than Ghana; to file his nomination forms on 8th October 2020 with the false information in the statutory declaration.

Mr. Quayson, according to the state, was however issued a Certificate of Renunciation of his Canadian citizenship (dated 26th November 2020), about forty-eight days after he had made the false statutory declaration and filed his nomination forms.

The embattled Member of Parliament, however, told investigators in a caution statement that at the material time, he honestly believed that he did not owe allegiance to any other country.

Source: Citinewsroom