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The Supreme Court of Ghana has overturned the Tamale High Court’s decision that annulled the parliamentary election results for the Kpandai Constituency in the Northern Region, effectively stopping the Electoral Commission’s planned rerun.
In a 4–1 majority decision delivered on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, the apex court upheld an application for certiorari filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament, Matthew Nyindam. Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang dissented, while the majority decision was supported by Justices Yonny Kulendi, Amadu Tanko, Samuel Asiedu, and Henry Kwofie. The court said detailed reasons for the ruling will be issued on February 6, 2026.
Nyindam had challenged the High Court’s authority to annul his election, arguing that the election petition filed by National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal was submitted outside the mandatory 21-day period prescribed by law. He maintained that the Kpandai parliamentary results were gazetted on December 24, 2024, making the petition filed on January 25, 2025, time-barred and therefore invalid.
His lawyers contended that the Tamale High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the petition and that all consequential orders, including the annulment of the election and the directive for a rerun, were null and void.
However, counsel for the NDC candidate argued that the relevant Gazette containing the Kpandai results was issued on January 6, 2025, placing the petition well within the statutory time limit. They further argued that Nyindam had previously relied on the January Gazette in earlier proceedings and could not now shift his position without breaching principles of fairness and estoppel.
The Electoral Commission had earlier scheduled a rerun for December 31, 2025, following the High Court ruling but suspended the exercise pending the Supreme Court’s determination. The EC explained that multiple Gazette notifications had been issued to cover different batches of constituency results.
With the Supreme Court’s decision setting aside the High Court judgment, the planned rerun has been cancelled, and Matthew Nyindam’s position as Member of Parliament for Kpandai remains intact.
