Big blow to NPP as High Court nullifies Kpandai 2024 parliamentary election, orders rerun

Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange of the Tamale High Court has nullified the parliamentary election results for the Kpandai constituency held on December 7, 2024, mandating the Electoral Commission to conduct a rerun within 30 days.

The legal challenge was initiated by Daniel Nsala Wakpal, the National Democratic Congress parliamentary candidate, who contested the validity of the election based on significant procedural violations.

His petition highlighted discrepancies in Form 8A, commonly referred to as the "pink sheet".

Across 41 of the constituency's 152 polling stations, contending that these irregularities contravened Regulations 39 and 43 of CI 127 (Public Elections Regulations).

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The court determined that the non-adherence to electoral protocols substantially compromised the election's integrity, necessitating a complete constituency-wide rerun.

The incumbent Member of Parliament, Matthew Nyindam of the New Patriotic Party, had been declared victor in the disputed election.

The electoral process was marred by significant controversy on voting day, with tensions escalating at the collation centre following accusations of electoral fraud from NDC supporters.

Incidents reportedly included the removal of biometric verification devices and destruction of ballots, prompting security intervention.

In the contested election, the NPP's Nyindam obtained 27,947 votes (53.47%), while the NDC's Wakpal garnered 24,213 votes (46.33%), establishing a margin of 3,734 votes. The APC candidate, Donkor Eric Nipani, received 104 votes (0.20%).

Legal representatives for the NPP candidate have since filed for a stay of execution pending their appeal.

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According to JoyNews, counsel for the NDC candidate characterised the case as straightforward, stating,

We had a rogue electoral commission district electoral officer who decided to abuse discretion. What is important and why this case is significant is that at every district election collation centre, there are certain rights that are preserved for the candidates.

The legal argument centred on allegations that the EC official improperly relocated the collation centre without informing the candidates, thereby preventing Wakpal from exercising his statutory rights.

As quoted by JoyNews, the counsel explained,

You don't relocate the district or redesignate the collation centre without notice to the participating candidates… The failure to notify the petitioner of the relocation meant that clearly there was no way he could have participated in the collation and be able to exercise his rights.

Welcoming the verdict, the counsel emphasised democratic principles.

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The only alternative would be to rerun the election… The power and the sovereignty lie with the people. It is for them to decide who their MP is, and you cannot be a beneficiary of such an incident and call yourself an MP.

Rashid Tanko Computer, NDC's Deputy Director of Elections and IT, interpreted the ruling as validation of the party's allegations.

He stated,

All along, the NDC has been saying that there are several crooked electoral officers who are bent on stealing people's mandates. And one of these is what has been exposed today.

He alleged systematic violations of CI 127 procedures, claiming,

They didn't do the collation. They just organised themselves, ran to Tamale, cooked some results and announced Nyindam as the parliamentary candidate elect.

Emphasising his party's adherence to legal channels, Computer stated,

The NDC is the most lawful political party in Ghana. We didn't use lawless means to get this verdict. We made sure that we followed through the process, and we have gotten a favourable judgement.

He concluded with a confident projection for the upcoming by-election,

I can assure you, we are appealing to our opponents, the NPP; they shouldn't come for the by-election because we will hand them some heavy defeats. If they still want to have some kind of respect for the good people of Ghana, they should chicken out like they chickened out in Tamale Central.

Meanwhile, lawyers of the Member of Parliament for Kpandi, Matthew Nyindam, have filed notice of appeal and a stay of execution against the decision of the High Court ordering a rerun of the parliamentary elections.

Counsel for Nyindam, Sylvester Esang, has said they disagree with the court ruling ordering a rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary elections.