The Supreme Court, by a majority decision with Justice Pwamang dissenting, has granted an application filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to quash a ruling by the Tamale High Court that annulled the parliamentary election of Kpandai MP, Matthew Nyindam.
The case stemmed from an election petition filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Kpandai, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, which led the High Court to nullify Nyindam’s election.
Following the High Court’s decision, lawyers for Nyindam escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that the trial judge lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition. They further contended that the petition was filed outside the constitutionally mandated 21-day period after the publication of the election results in the Gazette.
At the Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, January 13, counsel for Nyindam argued that the Gazette notification for the Kpandai parliamentary results was published on December 24, 2024. Based on this, they maintained that Wakpal’s petition filed on January 25, 2025 was clearly out of time and therefore invalid.
Lead counsel for Nyindam, Gary Nimako, told the court that the High Court judge committed a fundamental jurisdictional error by proceeding to hear the case despite the petition being filed beyond the statutory deadline. He argued that all actions taken by the High Court after the expiration of the 21-day period were null and void.
“The law provides strict timelines within which an election petition can be filed, and jurisdiction only vests in the High Court if those timelines are complied with,” Nimako submitted. “The petition filed by Mr Wakpal on January 25, 2025, was out of time, and the trial judge ought to have satisfied himself that he had jurisdiction before proceeding.”
He further urged the apex court not to overlook what he described as an error apparent on the face of the record, stressing that the High Court acted outside the scope of jurisdiction prescribed by law.
According to Nimako, the trial judge’s failure to comply with Section 18 of PNDC Law 284 rendered the judgment delivered on November 24, 2025, legally defective and liable to be quashed.
After considering the arguments, the Supreme Court agreed with the applicant and quashed the Tamale High Court’s ruling, effectively restoring Matthew Nyindam as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Kpandai.
