The Supreme Court has scheduled 28 January 2026 to deliver its ruling on whether to quash the High Court judgment that annulled the 2024 parliamentary election results for Kpandai in the Northern Region.
A five-member panel, comprising Justices Gabriel Pwamang, Omoro Tanko, Yonny Kulendi, Samuel Asiedu, and Henry Anthony Kwofie, heard arguments on an application invoking the court’s supervisory jurisdiction to overturn the 24 November 2025 High Court decision in Tamale.
Contention of Applicant
Counsel for the applicant, Gary Nimako Marfo, informed the Supreme Court that the petition filed at the High Court on January 25, 2025, was outside the constitutionally mandated filing period.
He explained that the Electoral Commission gazetted the official Kpandai results on 24 December 2024, and that under Article 99 of the Constitution, a petition must be filed within 21 days.
“The law provides the timelines within which a petition can be filed and before the High Court can be grounded with jurisdiction, and that is 21 days after gazette of the official results,” he argued.
Marfo further contended that the High Court assumed jurisdiction outside the statutory scope, in breach of Section 18 of PNDC Law 284, and described the alleged error as “so apparent on the face of the record” that the Supreme Court should quash the judgment.
Opposed to Application
Opposing the application, counsel for the first interested party, Sika Abla Addo, said the applicant was selectively relying on gazette notifications. She noted that two gazettes were relevant — dated December 24, 2024, and January 6, 2025 — and argued that the January 6 gazette should govern the filing period.
“The High Court was satisfied that there was a gazette notification on January 6, 2025, and it was on the back of this that the court assumed jurisdiction, proceeded to hear the matter, and delivered a judgment,” Ms. Addo submitted.
EC Counsel
Counsel for the Electoral Commission, Justin Amenuvor, told the court that, in prior election cases, gazettes circulated online had been deemed official. He said he had personally verified the relevant gazette at the Assembly Press when the Kpandai petition arose.
The Supreme Court has adjourned the case for ruling on January 28, 2026. The outcome will determine whether the annulment of the Kpandai parliamentary election result is upheld or overturned.
Background
The Supreme Court, by unanimous decision on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, suspended the rerun of the Kpandai constituency parliamentary election pending the determination of an application filed by Matthew Nyindam, challenging the High Court in Tamale’s decision ordering the rerun.
This, according to the court, was to ensure that the court is not overreached by the rerun pending the application, which it said discloses prima facie.
On December 1, 2025, the then Member of Parliament (MP) for Kpandai, Matthew Nyindam, filed an application at the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to quash the Tamale High Court’s judgment that annulled his election and ordered a rerun.
The application filed by his lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, sought an order of certiorari to strike out the High Court’s November 24, 2025, decision, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction.
The leading argument is that the election petition filed by Mr. Wakpal was not filed within 21 days of the gazetting of the election results, as prescribed by law.
He then followed up with an application for substituted service because they were struggling to serve the motion on the NDC candidate.
While the motions were pending, the EC on December 10, 2025, issued a statement announcing a rerun of the election on December 30, noting that the rerun will be contested only by the three candidates who participated in the original 2024 Parliamentary Election for the Kpandai Constituency.
This restriction, it said, is intended to ensure the rerun is a direct continuation of the disputed poll, with the same contenders.
Gary Nimako Marfo, while moving his motion for substituted service, urged the court to take judicial notice that the Electoral Commission has scheduled the rerun for December 30.
A 5-member panel of the court presided over by Justice Gabriel Pwamang. Justices Omoro Tanko, Yonny Kulendi, Samuel Asiedu, and Henry Anthony Kwofie assisted it. In its decision, it ordered the EC to suspend all arrangements for the rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary election in order not to overreach the court in its determination of the motion for certiorari.
Meanwhile, the court granted an application by Mr. Nyindam’s lawyers to serve the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the constituency, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, through substituted service.
Gary Nimako Marfo, counsel for Mathew Nyindam, told the court that all efforts to serve Mr. Wakpal with the motion for certiorari and motion to suspend the orders of the High Court have proved futile.
“Ever since the judgment was obtained, all attempts to serve him have proved futile. Bailiffs have been prevented from serving him when they went to the house,” he told the court.
He therefore urged the court to issue an order directing that the processes be posted on the walls of the facility, with a digital address provided by Mr. Wakpal, as reflected in the court documents from the proceedings before the High Court in Tamale.
After hearing Mr. Marfo, the panel found sufficient justification to issue a substituted service order. It directed that the motions be served on Mr. Wakpal via a digital address provided to the court.
The motion papers were also to be posted on the notice boards of the High Court in Tamale and the District Court in Kpandai.
The applicant shall also serve Mr. Wakpal via WhatsApp at the mobile phone number provided by Mr. Marfo. The postings are to remain for seven days, after which Wakpal would be deemed served.
