It’s Premature to Declare Kpandai Seat Vacant- Bagbin

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has ruled that the Kpandai Parliamentary seat cannot immediately be declared vacant following the annulment of the election of Hon Matthew Nyindam in the 2024 election.

He explained that the law makes provision for a mandatory seven-day stay of execution in all appealable High Court rulings.

“It is therefore too premature to say that Hon Matthew Nyindam is disqualified  from entering and participating in the proceedings of the House because this day still falls within the period of the 7-day mandatory stay of execution of the order.”

The Speaker therefore affirmed that the Nyindam broke no rule when he joined and participated in the proceedings of the House on November 26, 2025.

Court Ruling
The Tamale High Court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, on Monday annulled the parliamentary election results for the Kpandai constituency and ordered a fresh poll within 30 days.

The petition was filed by National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who claimed that the December 7, 2024, election was tainted by serious irregularities.

He alleged inconsistencies in  Form 8A (the “pink sheet”) from 41 polling stations out of the total 152, arguing that these breaches violated Regulations  39 and  43 of the Public Elections Regulations (CI 127).

In its ruling, the court agreed that non-compliance with electoral regulations materially affected the integrity of the vote. It has accordingly ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct a rerun of the parliamentary election in the entire constituency.

Meanwhile, Nyindam has filed an appeal against the ruling as well as a stay of execution to suspend the directive to have a fresh election organised.

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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