The disqualified Member of Parliament for Assin North constituency, James Gyakye Quayson, has treated lightly the controversies surrounding his political fortunes in the constituency.
He has also down played the state prosecuting him for perjury and forgery, following the ruling of the High Court nullifying his election and subsequent swearing-in as the MP for Assin North.
At his campaign launch on Monday to contest the upcoming by-election in the same constituency, the ‘Canadian Burger’ made the point that the development of the constituency, which is his priority, outweighs the intimidations by his opponents.
He claimed that all the court trials are political gimmicks to deter him from representing the Assin North constituency in Parliament, but it does not move him.
“All the court issues are mere intimidations. But the person you are intimidating, I do not care a hoot. So we will show them we came for development,” he said in the Twi language.
BY-ELECTION
The Electoral Commission (EC) has begun the processes to hold a by-election in the Assin North Constituency on June 27, 2023 to elect an MP to occupy the vacant seat occasioned by the disqualification of Mr James Gyakye Quayson.
Despite his ongoing criminal trial, which could see him imprisoned for ten years on the charge of perjury if found guilty, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has nevertheless nominated him to represent the party in the by-election.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) conducted its internal primary yesterday to elect its parliamentary candidate for the by-election, after over 500 delegates voted. Charles Opoku won with 397 votes, as against 136 for Freeman Amoah-Kyei.
Both political parties have started campaigning vigorously for votes in the constituency.
The NDC has accused the NPP of rushing to construct roads and other developments due to the by-election, while the NPP argues that the developments were in the pipeline before the by-election was announced.
Meanwhile, both parties are confident of winning the seat, which the NDC, with James Gyakye Quayson, garnered over 17,000 votes as against 14,000 by the NPP.
CRIMINAL TRIAL
Mr. Gyakye Quayson can go to prison for up to 10 years if found guilty for the charge of perjury and other criminal charges leveled against him by the Office of the Attorney General. He has been charged with five counts of deceit of public officer by making a false statement on his citizenship status.
Although the Court in its ruling said that Quayson was not qualified at the time of filing his nomination to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections, the ruling was silent on whether he could stand again.
The NDC had argued that Gyakye Quayson began the process to renounce his Canadian citizenship prior to filing, but did not receive his renunciation certificate early enough.
However, before the 2020 elections, he had received the certificate itself, by which time he had already filed and was a few months away from the polls.
He lost the case at the appeals court and finally at the Supreme Court, but has not signaled that he will go for a review of the final decision.
