The Supreme Court has ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to suspend all arrangements for a parliamentary rerun election in the Kpandai constituency, pending the final determination of a judicial review application challenging a High Court decision that annulled the 2024 results.
The order was made on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, after the court found that the applicant—NPP parliamentary candidate Matthew Nyindam—had established a prima facie case in his bid to quash a judgment delivered by the Tamale High Court on November 24, 2025.
The High Court had earlier annulled Nyindam’s election following a petition filed by the NDC candidate, prompting the EC to indicate, through a press release, that it was preparing to conduct a rerun. However, the Supreme Court’s intervention now puts those plans on hold.
Substituted Service Granted
At the hearing, counsel for the applicant, Gary Nimako Marfo, told the court that the first interested party—the NDC candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal had not been served with the judicial review application.
He therefore prayed the court to allow substituted service.
After extensive exchanges with counsel, the five-member panel, presided over by Justice Pwamang, with Justices Kulendi, Tanko, Samuel Asiedu, and Henry Kwofie, granted the request.
The court ordered that service on the NDC candidate be effected by: posting the processes at his residence in Kpandai, posting on the notice boards of the High Court in Tamale, the District Court in Kpandai, and sending the processes via WhatsApp to a phone number confirmed to belong to him.
The court directed that the processes remain posted for seven days, after which service would be deemed effective.
EC Directed to Halt Election Plans
Crucially, the court also ordered the Electoral Commission, represented by Justin Amenuvor, to suspend all arrangements toward the conduct of the election until the case is finally heard and determined.
The matter has been adjourned to January 13, 2026.
Background
The dispute stems from an election petition filed by the NDC candidate at the Tamale High Court, which resulted in the annulment of Nyindam’s election.
The NPP candidate has since approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the High Court lacked jurisdiction because the petition was filed outside the 21-day constitutional window for challenging parliamentary election results.
According to the applicant, the results were gazetted on December 24, 2024, but the petition was filed on January 25, 2025, rendering it statute-barred.
The Supreme Court’s decision to suspend the rerun preserves the status quo while it considers the legality of the High Court proceedings.
