Meet Gyakye Quayson, MP for Assin North
James Gyakye Quayson, a Ghanaian politician, was born on October 9, 1952, and is presently the Member of Parliament for the Assin North seat. Controversy: According to Ghana’s constitution, article 92 2a, a person is ineligible to serve in parliament if they have ties to another nation except Ghana. Quayson’s post was thus terminated by the Supreme Court of Ghana in a decision rendered in April 2022.
Both a bachelor’s in social sciences and a master’s in urban planning and community development are held by Quayson. He is an Assin Bereku native. He served as a district manager for the City of Toronto Employment and Social Services before to entering politics.
Due to Quayson’s dual citizenship with Ghana and Canada at the time he submitted his paperwork to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to run in the 2020 general election in Ghana, a resident of Assin Bereku named Michael Ankomah-Nimfah filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court in December 2020 questioning his eligibility to serve as the MP for Assin North.
No one having dual citizenship is allowed to serve in elected office in Ghana, under the constitution. Quayson appealed the decision to the Appeal Court after the court upheld the petition and called a by-election for Assin North. This was contested both inside and outside the house as he continued to serve in the legislature. By a 5-2 vote, the Supreme Court decided that he should no longer identify himself as a member of parliament. He has stated that he intends to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision.
Ellen Nimo