Private legal practitioner, Lawyer Kwame Adofo, has stated that all parties involved in the court case concerning the rerun of the Kpandai Constituency parliamentary election must comply with Parliament’s suspension of directives to the Electoral Commission (EC), following the outcome of the Tamale High Court ruling.
According to him, the Supreme Court has ordered the EC to suspend all preparations for the Kpandai parliamentary election rerun. He explained that by virtue of this directive, the substantive Member of Parliament, Matthew Nyindam, is entitled to return to Parliament to represent the people of the constituency.
Lawyer Adofo maintained that the parliamentary seat currently belongs to the people of Kpandai and not to any political party, and therefore nothing should prevent Matthew Nyindam from taking his seat in Parliament until the court case is finally determined.
He made these remarks on the Adekyee Mu Nsem morning show on Ahotor FM 92.3, hosted by Citizen Kofi Owusu in Accra.
He further reiterated that the Electoral Commission must halt all activities relating to the rerun until the court provides clear direction—either to set aside the Tamale High Court ruling or to reinstate Matthew Nyindam as the Member of Parliament.
In a related development, Professor John Osae-Kwapong, Democracy and Development Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD-Ghana), has welcomed the Supreme Court’s directive suspending the EC’s preparations for the Kpandai parliamentary election rerun. He described the court’s intervention as a necessary step to prevent procedural complications.
Professor Osae-Kwapong explained that the constitutional questions raised in the case warranted the intervention of the apex court.
“When issues border on the interpretation of constitutional provisions, it becomes appropriate for the highest court of the land to step in,” he noted.
He commended the Supreme Court for temporarily halting the EC’s arrangements until all legal issues before it are resolved, adding that the matter has been scheduled for determination in January.
According to him, allowing the EC to proceed with a rerun while the case is still under litigation could result in a more complex situation if the Supreme Court eventually overturns the High Court’s decision.
“There are certain actions that, once taken, are difficult to reverse. It is far better to wait than to create a mess later,” he cautioned.
The Supreme Court’s directive follows an application challenging the Tamale High Court’s judgment, which annulled the December 7, 2024, parliamentary election in Kpandai and ordered a rerun.
The applicant, Matthew Nyindam, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate, argues that the High Court wrongly assumed jurisdiction and has therefore petitioned the Supreme Court to review and quash the decision.
Professor Osae-Kwapong noted that the case touches on a long-standing legal debate regarding whether an appeal or a stay of execution automatically halts the actions of constitutional bodies such as the EC. Nonetheless, he believes the Supreme Court’s intervention will help prevent unnecessary confusion.
“While I had no expectations, I appreciate the court’s decision to pause the rerun until these critical issues are resolved,” he concluded.