Why Tamale High Court annulled Kpandai 2024 parliamentary election results and ordered rerun of entire election

The High Court successful Tamale connected Monday annulled the 2024 parliamentary predetermination results for the Kpandai Constituency successful the Northern Region and ordered a rerun of the full election.

The spot is presently being occupied by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP), Matthew Nyindam.

In the ruling, the court, presided implicit by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, held that the predetermination was flawed with wide irregularities and, therefore, ordered a rerun of the predetermination wrong 30 days.

Petition

The 2024 National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary campaigner for Kpandai, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, connected December 23, 2024, filed a petition astatine the Tamale High Court challenging the Electoral Commission (EC) declaration of Mr Nyindam arsenic Member of Parliament-elect for the constituency.

He alleged that the results of the parliamentary elections arsenic declared by the EC were invalid owed to immoderate irregularities and inconsistencies contained successful immoderate of the pinkish sheets

The erstwhile Member of Parliament (MP) argued that Form 8A (regulation 32 (7) and 39(2)) for 41 retired of a full of 152 polling stations contained immoderate inconsistencies and irregularities.

He added that the predetermination held connected December 7 predetermination was inconsistent with regularisation 39 of the nationalist elections’ regulations 2020 (CI 127) arsenic good arsenic the principles laid down by regularisation 39 frankincense affecting the result of the election.

Non-compliance

After examining the evidence, the tribunal agreed with the petitioner, ruling that the level of non-compliance materially affected the result of the poll.

It subsequently ordered the EC to organise a caller parliamentary predetermination successful the constituency to find the rightful winner.

Following the ruling, lawyers for the suspect person filed for a enactment of execution pending the determination of an appeal.

Briefing journalists aft the ruling, Counsel for the Plaintiff, Nii Kpakpo, expressed restitution with the result of the tribunal ruling.

He said the EC’s territory serviceman acted unlawfully by relocating the collation centre without the cognition of the candidates, thereby raising suspicion astir the integrity of the election.

“We had a rogue electoral committee territory electoral serviceman who decided to maltreatment discretion, the nonaccomplishment to notify the petitioner of the relocation meant determination was nary mode helium could person participated oregon exercised his rights”, helium stated.

Results

The annulled results had placed Mr Nyindam successful the pb with 27,947 votes, representing 53.47 per cent, portion Mr Wakpal had 24,213 votes, representing 46.33 per cent.

However, the parliamentary campaigner for All People Congress (APC), Donkor Eric Nipani, secured lone 104 votes.

The predetermination successful the constituency was characterised by violence.

At the collation centre, predetermination materials specified arsenic ballot boxes  and Biometric Verification Devices were reportedly vandalised during the chaos.

It took the timely involution of information unit to reconstruct calm.

Writer’s email:mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh