Supreme Court Throws Out Gyakye Quayson’s Review Application

A nine-member panne of Ghana’s Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an application filed by Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson against the High Court judgement that annulled his election in 2020 general elections.

Administering the ruling on Tuesday July 25, 2023, the country’s apex court held that the application by Mr Quayson did not meet the threshold for review as stipulated by the 1992 Constitution and the rule of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, while delivering the judgement held that most of the grounds raised by Mr Quayson in his application were a rehash of the arguments raised in the original case.

Again, the court held that some of the grounds in the review application  were disagreements the applicant had with the court on the judgment which did not constitute exceptional circumstances for the court to exercise its review jurisdiction in favour of the MP.

The Application for review is dismissed as without merit,” Justice Torkornoo stated.

Mr Quayson was seeking to overturn a High Court judgment nullifying his election as Assin North MP, and consequently removing him as a Member of Parliament and further ordering a re-run of the poll in the constituency.

His lawyers filed the review application and a substituted statement of the case on June 29 and July 5, respectively, on the grounds that the decision of the court was against a previous binding decision of the court and made up of fundamental and basic errors.

Mr Quayson however re-contested and won the by-election in the Assin North, that was occasioned by his removal by the court,