The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency, Mahama Ayariga, says the Supreme Court should have ruled to allow the embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, to continue discharging his duties as a substantive MP until a final determination is made in a case challenging his eligibility to hold the office.

According to him, there is no value in denying Mr. Quayson the opportunity to represent the constituents of Assin North when he is still exploring other legal options to challenge the case against him.

“It is not as if he imposed himself on the constituency, they voted for him and he won. He is still exploring the various means available to him so under those circumstances, I would rather think that the court will rely on time-tested principles that you allow the processes to run their life out, then you can give finality to the matter. What is the value to us in saying that he should not represent the people because as we speak, he is not a citizen to any other country,” Mahama Ayariga said on Eyewitness News.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, restrained Mr. Quayson from representing the people of Assin North until the final determination of a pending substantive case that avers that he held dual citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest in the 2020 elections contrary to law.

The ruling by the apex court has generated mixed reactions with some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) describing it as an aberration of justice.

The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, described the ruling as the enforcement the long-standing position of the constitution.

But Mahama Ayariga believes to the extent that Mr. Quayson still had other legal arsenals he can deploy to retain his seat, it was unfair for the court to direct that he steps aside.

“There is a possibility that there could be a change in the position of the Supreme Court on the matter, no matter how slim, [and so] that warrants that he continues to act until it is completely resolved.”

Mahama Ayariga said the current situation has dealt some blow to the numbers of the minority in parliament as there presently wouldn’t be any representative for Assin North in parliament.

Concerning talks about a possible by-election, he said anyone interested can trigger the processes if they want to.

“Strictly speaking, there is no MP for Assin North and anybody who wants to trigger the next processes would have to figure out how to trigger the processes,” he said.