Tamale High Court orders rerun of Kpandai parliamentary election within 30 days

The Tamale High Court has ordered a rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary election, directing the Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh poll within 30 days.

The ruling, delivered by His Lordship Emmanuel Brew Plange, follows a legal challenge to the 2024 parliamentary results by former Member of Parliament and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal. He petitioned the court after the Electoral Commission declared Matthew Nyindam the winner of the constituency contest.

Wakpal argued that the December 7 election was invalid due to irregularities and inconsistencies in FORM 8A – the Statement of Polls (Pink Sheet) – for 41 of the 152 polling stations in the constituency. He contended that these breaches compromised the integrity of the election.

He stated: “The parliamentary election held in the Kpandai constituency on 7th December 2024 was not conducted in compliance with Regulations 39 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I 127) and the principles laid down by Regulations 39, and that the said non-compliance affected the results of the elections.”

He further argued: “The declaration and publication of the parliamentary election results held in the Kpandai constituency on 7th December 2024 were not made in compliance with Regulations 43 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I 127) and the principles laid down by Regulations 43, and that the said non-compliance affected the entire results of the parliamentary elections in the Kpandai constituency.”

Wakpal subsequently sought an order to set aside the declared results affecting the 41 polling stations. He further requested: “An order directed at the 2nd and 3rd respondents to conduct a re-run of the parliamentary elections in the affected 41 polling stations out of the 152 polling stations in the Kpandai constituency on a date determined by the court.”

Justice Plange upheld the petition, ruling that the irregularities materially affected the outcome. The court therefore ordered the Electoral Commission to organise a new election to determine the rightful winner.