Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has mounted a strong defence of the Clerk to Parliament amid growing controversy surrounding a letter that formally declared the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant. According to him, the Clerk acted squarely within the boundaries of Ghana’s constitutional and procedural requirements.
Speaking on the issue, the Bawku Central MP argued that the Minority Caucus’ decision to obstruct debate in the chamber on Tuesday backfired and ultimately disadvantaged them.
Ayariga explained that the relevant legal framework leaves little room for discretion once a court orders a rerun of a parliamentary election. In such cases, he said, the Clerk is duty-bound to officially notify the Electoral Commission (EC), unless there is an explicit court directive suspending or staying the judgment.
> “From my understanding of the law, the Clerk acted precisely as required. There is no legal basis on which he can be faulted,” he stated. “In the absence of a court order staying the judgment, time continues to run. At this point, the Clerk has already communicated the vacancy to the Electoral Commission, and the 30-day countdown has begun.”
Ayariga noted that the dramatic scenes witnessed in Parliament on Tuesday night scenes marked by shouting, procedural objections and near-chaos could easily have been avoided had MPs allowed a calm and structured debate that would have enabled the Speaker to issue a clear ruling.
Instead, he said, the Minority MPs disrupted proceedings and prevented him from presenting the legal interpretation that guided the Clerk’s actions.
> “What the Speaker intended was for the House to permit a proper discussion that would give him the atmosphere to deliver a ruling. The Minority blocked that process,” he said. “Ironically, they are now the ones bearing the consequences of preventing that conversation.”
The chamber descended into confusion after Minority MPs demanded that sitting be suspended, following Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to defer his ruling on the status of the Kpandai seat. Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh insisted that no government business should continue until the matter was conclusively addressed.
Speaker Bagbin, however, ruled after a voice vote that parliamentary business would proceed, prompting the Minority Caucus to chant in protest and attempt to disrupt the session. The tension stemmed from a December 4, 2025, correspondence from the Clerk to Parliament informing EC Chairperson Jean Mensa of a vacancy in the Kpandai Constituency. The notice followed a High Court decision ordering a rerun of the 2024 parliamentary election in the area.
Ayariga emphasized that the Majority’s reaction was neither unusual nor unjustified, noting that both sides of the House have a history of vigorously defending their candidates during electoral disputes.
> “They must be seen fighting for their own, just as the Minority has done on many occasions,” he remarked. “They seem to forget that the candidate who lost in Kpandai is from the NDC, so we also have a legitimate interest in the matter. If they believe they should defend their candidate, why shouldn’t we defend ours—especially when the law supports our position?”
He cautioned that blocking open debate on legal and constitutional matters in Parliament threatens the integrity of Ghana’s democratic processes.
> “If we begin to suppress legitimate discussions on the floor, we risk eroding the foundations of our democracy,” he warned.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission is expected to issue additional guidance in the coming days as preparations begin for the court-ordered rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary election.