The Minority in Parliament will abstain from Parliamentary business on days the Member of Parliament for the Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, will go to court for hearing on the criminal proceedings, the Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson has said.
Dr Ato Forson made said this when the leadership of the House were given the opportunity to make remarks after Gyakye Quayson was sworn into office on Tuesday in Parliament.
He said the decision to boycott was to support Mr Quayson.
He said the entire Minority caucus will accompany Mr. Quayson to court and refrain from participating in the business of the House on those specific days.
“We wish to serve notice that the entire Minority will accompany our colleague today and any other days that he is to appear in court. We are solidarising with our colleague and we will not participate in the business of the House anytime our colleague is in court and we will be withdrawing from the Chamber after this ceremony if the court processes happen today.”
For his part, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu questioned the basis for which some members are referring to the case of the newly sworn-in MP as selective justice.
He cited provisions in the 1992 Constitution, specifically Article 97, about the circumstances that occasion the vacation of a seat by an MP.
“Mr Speaker, if this provision comes to be applied, nobody from his true conscience can say that it is persecution or selective justice. Let us respect the constitution that all of us have sworn to uphold,” he said.
“Selectivity will be that you elect to apply in piecemeal the entirety of the constitution. Mr Speaker, so people should understand and appreciate the import of this constitution and when it comes to be applied it is not selective justice.”
Mr Quayson is facing trial for perjury at the High Court in Accra.
He is facing charges of forgery and perjury in relation to certain alleged offences in the run up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election.
He has pleaded not guilty to five counts of forgery of passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury and false declaration for office.
It is the case of the prosecution that Mr Quayson allegedly made a false statement to the Passport Office that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian Passport.
In addition, the prosecution has accused Mr Quayson of making a false declaration to the Electoral Commission (EC) to the effect that he (Quayson) did not owe any allegiance to a foreign country when he filed to contest as candidate for the Assin North seat in 2020.
Source: Graphiconline
