The court denied the motion for a stay of proceedings made by the Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.
Tsatsu Tsikata, the lead counsel, has stated his intention to submit an application to the Court of Appeal requesting a stay of proceedings.
The MP is being tried in Accra’s High Court on forgery and perjury allegations.
Lawyers for the beleaguered MP asked the court to delay proceedings so that the Court of Appeal could consider its appeal against the trial judge’s decision to hear the case on a daily basis.
Tsatsu Tsikata, the team’s lead attorney, contended that any decision not to halt the proceedings would prejudge the appeal. However, the prosecution, led by Godfred Dame, opposed the application.
Mr Gyakye Quayson’s problems began with his declaration of intent to run in the Assin North Parliamentary elections in 2020, when a group calling itself ‘Concerned Citizens of Assin North’ petitioned the Electoral Commission in the Central Region to withdraw Mr Quayson’s candidature, claiming he was a Canadian citizen.
Despite the appeal, Mr Quayson was elected to represent the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 parliamentary elections, receiving 17,498 votes (55.21%), while the New Patriotic Party’s nominee received 14,193 votes (44.79%).
Following Mr Quayson’s victory, a citizen of Assin Bereku in the Central Region petitioned the Cape Coast High Court to nullify his election as MP of Assin North.
On May 17, three years after the legal action began, the Supreme Legal finished its procedures and instructed Parliament to remove his name from its records.
He later re-won the seat in a by-election.
The Court’s ruling on Tuesday came after the Minority in Parliament once again boycotted business proceedings in Parliament in favour of the trial of Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson.
The Accra High Court is expected to rule on a motion for a stay of proceedings in the case involving the politician, who is accused of forgery and perjury.
Lawyers for the beleaguered MP have asked the court to pause proceedings so that the Court of Appeal can reconsider the trial judge’s decision to handle the case on a daily basis.
The Minority caucus has agreed to forego Parliamentary sessions in order to accompany their colleague member to court.
Source: citinewsroom.com