Tuesday, 25 November

Minority Caucus rejects court ruling nullifying Kpandai parliamentary election

Politics
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, MP for Effutu

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has expressed strong disagreement with the Tamale High Court ruling that nullified the results of the 2024 parliamentary election in the Kpandai Constituency and ordered a rerun.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Caucus insisted that the election was conducted transparently and that the declared result accurately reflected the will of the people.

According to the Minority, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate, Mr. Mathew Nyindam, won the contest with a decisive margin of 3,734 votes.

The Electoral Commission (EC) declared Mr Nyindam winner after securing 27,947 votes against the 24,213 garnered by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Mr. Daniel Nsala Wakpal.

The Caucus recounted events at the collation centre, claiming that following the declaration of the presidential results, Mr. Wakpal allegedly led a group of supporters to the centre in a Mahindra pickup.

The group, wearing NDC-branded T-shirts, reportedly damaged ballot boxes in an attempt to disrupt the collation process.

The Minority stated that the chaos created significant security risks, prompting the EC to relocate the final declaration to its regional office in Tamale.

Prior to that, all NDC agents had signed the pink sheets at every polling station, confirming the accuracy of the results recorded.

The statement further indicated that Mr. Wakpal declined to travel to Tamale for the final stage of the collation after realising he was trailing in the election.

The EC proceeded without him and eventually declared Nyindam winner of the parliamentary race.

Mr  Wakpal subsequently filed a petition in court, citing his absence from Tamale and clerical errors in 41 out of the 152 polling stations.

However, the Minority emphasised that during the trial, the main witness for the NDC admitted that only about 500 votes were in contention—an insufficient number to overturn a margin of over 3,000 votes.

Despite what the Caucus described as indisputable facts, the Tamale High Court nullified the election and directed a fresh poll.

The Minority voiced concern over the ruling, insisting that the evidence presented in court did not support such an outcome.

A notice of appeal and an application for a stay of execution have since been filed, as the Minority seeks to challenge and overturn the ruling.

Reaffirming its commitment to democratic principles and the rule of law, the Minority Caucus expressed confidence that the appellate courts will reverse the High Court’s decision and restore what it believes to be the legitimate choice of the people of Kpandai.

 

The statement was signed by the Minority Leader, Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Cecil Mensah