Gyakye Quayson runs to Tsatsu Tsikata to help fight daily trial order

Gyakye Quayson runs for Tsatsu Tsikata in the Assin North by-election to combat the daily trial order.

James Gyakye Quayson, a former member of parliament, has asked the high court to overturn a ruling requiring him to show up every day for his continuing criminal trial.

That order, in the opinion of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Assin North, is impeding his chances of winning reelection in the upcoming by-election.

On Tuesday, June 20, 2023, Quayson is anticipated in court with his attorney Tsatsu Tsikata to pursue the motion.

Quayson stated in a media interview that he was unfazed by the court’s decision to hear his perjury case every day.

“If they want, they can do so by giving me a bed to sleep in the court to enable me to attend the court, but the New Patriotic Party will lose the by-elections,” he claimed.

They can also offer me a room in the court to sleep in, but Assin North will still fall to me, he said.

Additionally, he asserted that “the people will vote against them even if they share money before the by-election.”

He continued, “I even want to disguise myself and take some of the money and give it to the chiefs and people of the area.

The High Court recently decided that the trial for perjury and forgery against Quayson will commence on a daily basis on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

This comes after a request by Mr. Quayson’s attorney, Justin Terriwajjah, to have the trial continued after the Assin North by-election scheduled for June 27, 2023, was denied by the court, presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh.

The attorney contended that his client was assuming a national duty in an effort to represent the residents of Assin North in parliament, and that Quayson needed to continue the trial after the by-election in order to compete on an even playing field.

The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, disputed the prayer and emphasized that nobody had given the former MP a national duty, calling Quayson’s decision to run in the by-election a “voluntary and selfish quest.”

In connection with a number of alleged offenses in the run-up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election, Quayson is accused of forgery and perjury.

He faces five counts each of forging a passport or travel document, making a false statutory declaration with knowledge, lying under oath, and making a false declaration for office.

Due to the fact that Quayson having not relinquished his Canadian citizenship at the time of filing to run for office, the Supreme Court pronounced his election in the 2020 elections to be invalid.

Dual citizens are prohibited from holding public office in Ghana by law.

Source: Mynewsghana.com