Ghana’s Supreme Court has ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to suspend preparations for a parliamentary rerun in the Kpandai constituency, pending the outcome of a judicial review application filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Matthew Nyindam.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, comes after the court found Nyindam had established a prima facie case in his bid to overturn a Tamale High Court judgment that annulled his 2024 election victory.
Court halts EC’s plans
The Tamale High Court had earlier nullified Nyindam’s election following a petition by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal. In response, the EC announced plans to conduct a rerun. But the Supreme Court’s intervention has now frozen those arrangements.
“The Electoral Commission is hereby ordered to suspend all arrangements toward the conduct of the election until the case is finally heard and determined,” the five-member panel, presided over by Justice Pwamang, ruled. The panel also included Justices Kulendi, Tanko, Samuel Asiedu, and Henry Kwofie.
Substituted service granted
At the hearing, Nyindam’s lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, argued that Wakpal had not been served with the judicial review application. The court subsequently granted substituted service, directing that the processes be posted at Wakpal’s residence in Kpandai, on notice boards at the Tamale High Court and Kpandai District Court, and sent via WhatsApp to a phone number confirmed to belong to him.
The court ordered that the notices remain posted for seven days, after which service would be deemed effective.
Background to the dispute
The case stems from Wakpal’s election petition at the Tamale High Court, which annulled Nyindam’s victory. Nyindam has challenged the ruling, insisting the petition was filed outside the 21-day constitutional window for contesting parliamentary results.
According to him, the results were gazetted on December 24, 2024, but Wakpal’s petition was lodged on January 25, 2025, a month later. Nyindam argues this makes the petition statute-barred and beyond the High Court’s jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court’s suspension of the rerun preserves the status quo while it considers the legality of the High Court’s proceedings. The matter has been adjourned to January 13, 2026.
