Justice William Atuguba, a former justice of the Supreme Court, has criticized the apex court’s ruling that invalidated James Gyakye Quayson’s election as the Assin North Member of Parliament in 2020.

Justice Atuguba disclosed this during a lecture on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, at the University of Ghana, Legon under the theme ‘Protecting our Democracy, The Role of the Judiciary’.

He said the Supreme Court lacked the legal authority to consider the case since Article 99 of the 1992 Constitution retained post-parliamentary election matters for the High Court with an appeal process at the Court of Appeal.

According to him, the decision by the Supreme Court in the Gyakye Quayson case meant that the apex court had concurrent jurisdiction over the parliamentary election petition with the High Court, which was alien to the 1992 Constitution.

He argues that the 1992 Constitution could not have intended for a centralized body like the Supreme Court to decide cases pertaining to parliamentary elections that were held in more than 200 constituencies.