The Supreme Court has ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to suspend all arrangements for the rerun of the parliamentary election in the Kpandai Constituency pending the determination of an application challenging the High Court’s judgment that ordered the rerun.
In an order yesterday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, which had Justice Gabriel Pwamang presiding, said this would ensure that the election did not overreach the court in its determination of a certiorari application filed by Mathew Nyindam of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Per the orders of the court, the processes are to be posted on the house address of Daniel Nsala Wakpal, the 2024 National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Kpandai who is the first interested party to the motion seeking to quash the order for rerun; the noticeboards of the Tamale High Court, the District Court in Kpandai and Mr Wakpal’s personal WhatsApp contact.
The bench instructed that the notices should remain for seven days and would be deemed to have been served after the period.
The case has been adjourned to January 13, 2026.
Other members of the court were Justices Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, and Henry A. Kwofi.
Substituted service
The order came after lawyers for Mr Nyindam, led by Gary Nimako Marfo, moved a motion for substituted service to enable them to properly bring the application for certiorari to the attention of Mr Wakpal.
Absence
When the case was called yesterday, the bench expressed displeasure about the absence of officials of the EC.
Mr Wakpal was also absent since the motion for substituted service was filed ex parte.
The President of the five-member panel asked the counsel for the EC, Justin Amenuvor, why the officers of the EC were absent.
“They don’t consider the actions serious enough? They’re running our election, and they’ll not come to the Supreme Court,” Justice Tanko Amadu said.
Moving the motion for an order of substituted service, counsel for the applicant, Mr Nimako Marfo, said since the judgment was given at the High Court, bailiffs had not been able to serve the motion filed at the Supreme Court on Mr Wakpal.
The bench asked the lawyer for the EC whether the commission had the contact details of Mr Wakpal when he filed to contest the 2024 elections, but counsel said he would need to verify that information from the EC.
“Unfortunately, you see what the commission has put you and the court into.
The gentleman who signed the press statement for the rerun should have been here because he would have come with some institutional memory of the candidate and particulars,” Justice Tanko Amadu said.
Mr Nimako Marfo drew the attention of the court to the contact details of Mr Wakpal on the petition he filed at the High Court.
Background
In November this year, the High Court in Tamale annulled the 2024 parliamentary election results for the Kpandai Constituency and ordered a rerun of the entire election.
Prior to that, the seat was being occupied by Mr Nyindam.
In the judgment, the court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, held that the election was flawed with widespread irregularities, and, therefore, ordered a rerun of the election within 30 days.
The judgment followed a petition filed by Mr Wakpal challenging the election.
After the judgment, the EC announced that the election would be rerun on December 30, 2025.
