The Supreme Court has, by a 4-1 majority decision, quashed the High Court in Tamale’s judgment that nullified the 2024 Kpandai Constituency Parliamentary Election.
The panel of five presided over by Justice Gabriel Pwamang also ordered that all consequential orders made, including orders to the EC to conduct a rerun have also been quashed.
Justice Pwamang who dissented said the reasoning of the majority – Justices Amadu Tanko, Emmanuel Yonni Kulwndi, Samuel Asiedu and Henry Anthony Kwofie would be ready by February 6, 2026.
On January 13, the Apex Court head arguments from the Member of Parliament for Kpandai’s application for Certiorari to quash the decision of the High Court in Tamale to invalidate his election as MP.
Lawyers for the applicant, led by Garry Nimako Marfo, had argued before a five-member panel of the Supreme Court that the court, among other things, should consider jurisdictional error and error on the face of the records.
While Gary Nimako, lead counsel for the applicant, was of the view that the petition filed by the first interested party (NDC’s Daniel Nsala Wakpal) was filed outside the statutory 21-day period after the gazette, his lawyers, led by Sika Abla Addo, said their petition was filed within time.
The bone of contention from both parties was that while the NPP side believed that the gazette document they are working with was published on December 24, 2024, the NDC side relied on similar gazette documents published on January 6, 2025.
For the NPP, their position is that the document gazetted on December 24 is correct, which made the petition filed on January 26 out of the 21-day period allowed to file a petition.
While the NDC also argued that the petition was filed based on the updated documents gazetted on January 6, 2025, which makes their petition in line with the 21-day period to file.
The Electoral Commission, led by Justine Amenuvor, while pointing to the experience in the Akwatia case, said he had procured the gazette copies from Assembly Press that could assist the court.
The panel, presided over by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, with Justices Amadu Tanko, Emmanuel Yonni Kulendi, Samuel Asibu Asiedu, and Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, then fixed January 28 to determine the matter.
Background
In November last year, the High Court in Tamale annulled the 2024 parliamentary election results for the Kpandai Constituency and ordered a rerun of the entire election. Michael Nyindam was declared the winner of the election in 2024.
The court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, in the judgment, held that the election was flawed with widespread irregularities and, therefore, ordered a rerun of the election within 30 days.
The decision followed a petition filed by Mr. Wakpal challenging the election. After the judgment, the EC announced that the election would be rerun on December 30, 2025.
Source :www.kumasimail.com
