Former Sekondi MP, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has described as “far-fetched” the Tamale High Court’s decision to annul the entire 2024 parliamentary election in the Kpandai constituency, despite the petitioner raising concerns about only 41 polling stations.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Mr. Mercer said the ruling raises serious questions about judicial consistency in electoral dispute resolution.
“For the petitioner to ask for the annulment of 41 polling stations where the issues actually took place, and for the court to annul the entire election and order a rerun of all 152 polling stations—amazing.
“You complain of 41 polling stations. Ordinarily, if I’m deciding based on the facts before me, I restrict myself to those facts. To go beyond that and invalidate the entire constituency is far-fetched,” he remarked.
He referenced the Supreme Court’s position in the 2012/2013 Presidential Election Petition—Nana Akufo-Addo vs. the Electoral Commission and John Mahama—where the Court stressed that votes cannot be invalidated merely because electoral officers failed to perform certain statutory duties.
“Based on that precedent, to invalidate the entirety of the votes in Kpandai because someone complained about 41 polling stations is difficult to accept,” he said. “If irregularities were established, it would have been reasonable for the court to annul those 41 polling stations and order a rerun there, not throw out the entire result.”
Mr. Mercer questioned the legal basis for extending the annulment beyond the specific polling stations the petitioner complained about.
“How would the remaining polling stations be tainted when evidence was only led on the 41? The rest were not even in issue,” he stressed.
The Tamale High Court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, earlier this week annulled the 2024 parliamentary election in the Kpandai constituency and ordered a fresh poll within 30 days.
The case was brought by NDC candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who alleged serious irregularities in 41 out of 152 polling stations, citing inconsistencies in Form 8A (pink sheets) that violated Regulations 39 and 43 of the Public Elections Regulations (CI 127).
The court concluded that the non-compliance “materially affected” the integrity of the vote and therefore ordered the Electoral Commission to conduct a rerun across the entire constituency, not just the disputed polling stations.
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