By: Akua Oteng Amponsah
Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has clarified that the Kpandai legislator, Matthew Nyindam, is still entitled to sit and participate in Parliament, even though the Tamale High Court has overturned the results of the 2024 parliamentary election in his constituency.
Addressing the House on Thursday, November 26, Speaker Bagbin explained that the rules of the Court of Appeal provide an automatic stay of a High Court judgment for seven days once a notice of appeal is filed. Because the High Court delivered its ruling on November 24, 2025, he noted, the judgment remains suspended until December 1, 2025.
According to him, “During this period, the High Court ruling cannot form the basis for the Speaker to instruct the Clerk to notify the Electoral Commission that the Kpandai seat is vacant.”
He went on to say that Mr. Nyindam could further extend this suspension by exercising his right of appeal, including filing an application under Rule 27(1) of C.I. 19, which may halt enforcement of the judgment until the appeal is determined.
The Speaker stressed that Parliament cannot bar the MP from participating in proceedings before the mandatory seven-day stay ends, describing any such move as premature.
“Honourable Members, this is not a declaratory order; it is an executive order delivered by the High Court,” he stated, reaffirming that Mr. Nyindam is fully entitled to join parliamentary activities.
Background
The Tamale High Court, led by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, annulled the December 7, 2024 parliamentary election in Kpandai after NDC candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal filed a petition challenging the results.
The petition cited major irregularities, especially discrepancies found on Form 8A pink sheets from 41 out of 152 polling stations breaches the petitioner argued contravened Regulations 39 and 43 of the Public Elections Regulations (CI 127).
The court concluded that these violations substantially undermined the credibility of the election and subsequently ordered the Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh parliamentary contest across the entire constituency.
