Former President John Dramani Mahama has promised to review the constitutional provision that prevents Ghanaians with dual citizenship from holding political positions in the country.
According to him, such a law cannot be allowed to remain in the current scheme of things.
Mr Mahama insisted that the law hurts the country’s human resource and must not be allowed to fester any longer.
“But I want to assure the people of Ghana and James Gyakye Quayson, who is our MP for Assin North, that when NDC comes to power, we will clarify that constitutional provision that compels them to give up their foreign citizenship before they contest elections.”
Addressing NDC faithfuls on Sunday, May 7, 2023 in Tamale, Mr. Mahama said “a country’s human resource is its best resource. We happen to have three million of our citizens abroad, they have acquired skills and different talents. Why must we have a law that bars them when we have a dual citizenship law? We will clarify it, so that they can come and contest for parliamentary seats and hold offices in Ghana. They don’t have to give up their other citizenship to be able to hold office,” he argued.
The NDC flagbearer hopeful also accused the government of being behind the Supreme Court’s injunction against Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson who represented the opposition National Democratic Congress in that constituency.
Mr. Quayson was sued by one Richard Takyi-Mensah, a teacher and a resident of Yamoransa in the Central Region, for failing to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time he picked nomination forms to contest the Assin North Constituency election in 2020.
But Mr Mahama believes the government manipulated the apex court in order to get the numbers to pursue its business in the 8th Parliament which had no clear majority.
According to him, such acts and conducts are an affront to the country’s growing democracy.
“We have seen the cardinal sin of the 4th Republic which is the disenfranchisement of the people of SALL. For one whole term, they have not had a Member of parliament. Let’s put that aside, the people of Assin North elected a person to represent them in Parliament.”
“This government has manipulated the judiciary in such a way that they have injuncted the MP for Assin North. So even though he is the elected member, he cannot perform the duties of an MP. That is a gross injustice and an affront to the country’s growing democracy” he stated.
In July 2012, the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Adamu Dramani Sakande, was sentenced to two years imprisonment for breaching the same law on dual citizenship.
He was found guilty of false declaration of office, perjury and deceiving a public officer.
The MP, who fell ill later in prison, was granted presidential pardon by John Mahama in December of that same year.
He died in September 2020 from a heart condition.
