The desire of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to snatch the Kpandai parliamentary seat from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has failed.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 28 January 2026, in a 4-1 majority decision, quashed the ruling of the Tamale High Court that ordered a re-run of the 2024 Kpandai parliamentary election.
The decision by the apex court comes as a huge relief to the Member of Parliament and the party, which struggles with numbers in the 9th Parliament.
The Minority had already lost a seat to the Majority at the Akwatia by-election, following the demise of the MP and could not afford another defeat at Kpandai, which would have further shrunk their number to 86 as against 189 of the majority.
DEMAND
In their quest to secure an absolute majority in parliament, the NDC challenged several parliamentary seats declared in favour of the NPP during the 2024 elections.
Aside from Kpandai, Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Suhum, and even the Akwatia seat that was won by the late Ernest Yaw Kumi were all challenged. In all three petitions, the court upheld the victory of the NPP.
However, immediately after the Tamale High Court ruled in favour of the NDC in the Kpandai case and ordered a re-run, the majority in Parliament pressed a demand for the immediate removal of Matthew Nyindam from the Chamber.
The MP had prepared to contribute to proceedings on the floor, but the majority resisted, arguing that by the order of the Tamale High Court, he ceased to hold himself out as the MP for the Kpandai constituency.
The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who raised the matter, indicated that though the MP had filed an appeal and a stay of execution, it was not enough.
“The mere filing of an appeal or a stay of execution does not operate to stop the judgement of the court,” he added. “We will not allow Nyindam to continuously carry himself as an MP, and we will not allow him to speak.”
“Mr Speaker, these are very serious matters,” Dafeamekpor said. “He cannot enter the chamber and even attempt to debate.”
WITHDRAW
Days later, the Clerk of Parliament, by a letter dated December 4, 2025, notified the Electoral Commission of the vacancy of the Kpandai seat and the need for an election to be held to fill the gap.
However, the minority, unhappy with the move, registered their displeasure and called on Parliament to withdraw the letter it wrote to the EC.
The Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who is the Minority Chief Whip, described the action as unlawful and procedurally flawed.
His argument was that the letter was issued in disregard of due process, especially since a motion for stay of execution was still pending in court.
He said “We strongly submit that the letter that was filed with the Electoral Commission was out of place, was unfortunate, and flies in the face of law and procedural justice.
“That letter must be withdrawn forthwith… Ghana is a fledgling democracy and the least we can do is to support the procedure.”
The letter to the EC triggered its constitutional mandate under Article 112(5) to hold by-elections when necessary.
Meanwhile, the affected MP, Matthew Nyindam, following the declaration of the seat vacant, ceased attending parliamentary activities as a member.
He told the media that he was respecting the law and thus would stay aside till the final determination by the SC, which he was confident would legitimise his election.
At the SC, the NPP lawyers raised legal issues about time.
They told the court that the petition was filed outside the 21-day window for parliamentary election petitions to be filed after gazetting.
The NPP candidate won the seat with 27, 947 votes, and the NDC had 24, 213, with the last contender obtaining a paltry 104.
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