The Minority in Parliament has hailed the decisive 4–1 Supreme Court ruling that quashed a previous High Court judgment annulling the 2024 parliamentary results for Kpandai.
The verdict effectively reinstates Hon. Matthew Nyindam as the lawful Member of Parliament, bringing an abrupt halt to what the Minority described as a premature and unlawful attempt to force a fresh election.
The Supreme Court’s decision hinged on a critical breach of legal procedure: the original election petition was filed outside the strict statutory timelines. By exercising its supervisory jurisdiction, the apex court ruled that the Tamale High Court lacked the authority to hear the case in the first place.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in a statement issued on Wednesday, lauded the ruling as a victory for electoral finality.
He said, “No court, no party, and no institution of state may rewrite the rules after an election has taken place and a winner has been duly declared and gazetted.”
Afenyo-Markin directed sharp criticism toward the leadership of Parliament, labeling the decision to declare the seat vacant as constitutionally unsafe. He argued that the Clerk to Parliament acted with undue haste by notifying the Electoral Commission based on a non-final judgment, despite pending appeals.
To stress this departure from protocol, the Minority Leader cited several historical precedents where Parliament exercised restraint until all judicial avenues were exhausted, including the cases of James Gyakye Quayson, Adamu Dramani Sakande, and Dan Abodakpi.
With the Supreme Court’s intervention, the planned rerun for December 30, 2025, has been permanently scrapped. The Minority is now calling for: Immediate withdrawal of all administrative notices declaring the Kpandai seat vacant must be retracted; and a review of parliamentary processes to prevent future premature vacancy declarations.
While the NDC has hinted at seeking a review of the ruling, the Minority maintains that the sovereign will of the Kpandai voters has been vindicated and protected from frivolous litigation.
