Politics of Saturday, 17 June 2023
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
Member of the communication team of the New Patriotic Party, Lawuratu Musah-Saaka has accused the opposition National Democratic of deliberately orchestrating its misfortune in the case of James Gyakye Quayson.
Alluding to the biblical quote of “no sleep for the wicked,” Lawuratu while appearing on the June 13, 2023, edition of Metro TV’s Good Morning, Ghana said the NDC failed to be vigilant when it presented the embattled Gyakye Quayson as its parliamentary candidate in 2020.
“It is your own deeds that is playing out. The people of Assin North, the NDC gave you a candidate who they knew wasn’t qualified to be a parliamentary candidate by Article 94 of the Constitution of Ghana. That is where we are now. The money that is being put to use for a by-election could’ve constructed other facilities in Assin North but today we have to spend that money for a by-election because the NDC refused to do due diligence,” she stated.
Her statement was in response to an NDC representative on the show who had emphasised that the party will not go to sleep to ensure victory in the Assin North by election.
But responding to the statement, Lawuratu maintained that the NDC is not able to sleep due to their own wilful negligence.
“Magoo said they are not sleeping right? They can’t sleep they are marching us. But there is this verse in the bible that talks about lack of sleep, right? There is a certain group of people that can’t sleep, you are the one that goes to church… There is no sleep for the…” she retorted.
The Electoral Commission has slated June 27, 2023, for a by-election to be held in the Assin North Constituency.
This was after a recent ruling by the Supreme Court which described the election of James Gyakye Quayson as MP for the area as unconstitutional, null and void.
According to the Supreme Court, Gyakye Quayson held Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his nomination as the NDC's parliamentary candidate in 2020 and thus ordered for his name to be expunged from the records of parliament.
However, the NDC has since gone ahead to appoint Gyakye Quayson as its candidate for the upcoming election while the attorney general has also commenced a criminal suit against him.
A High Court on Friday, June 16, 2023, refused an application to hear the case after the election and ruled that the case be heard on a day-by-day basis after commencement of trial on June 20, 2023, just seven days to the election.
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