The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Matthew Nyindam has had his election as Member of Parliament for Kpandai restored following a Supreme Court ruling that quashed a High Court decision which had annulled his victory.
The apex court, by a 4–1 majority, held that the High Court erred in law, with Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang dissenting.
Reacting to the judgment at the Supreme Court premises on Wednesday, Nelson Rockson Dafeamekpor of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said the party was “grieved” by the outcome and would provide guidance to its candidate on the next steps.
“As a party, we are grieved by this decision, and therefore, we will advise our candidate on the matter regarding the next step to take,” he told JoyNews’ Kwaku Asante.
“But the court is a court of equity, and of law; we should be interested in the gazette notification published by the assembly press under the authority of the Electoral Commission, which was brought to Parliament, for which people like me were sworn in. That cannot be a gazette that will be discounted by the court because it is a public document. The NPP cannot benefit from that gazette notification and come to court to say that that is not a proper document,” he argued.
The ruling follows an application by Mr Nyindam, who invoked the Supreme Court’s supervisory jurisdiction to challenge the High Court decision on grounds of jurisdictional error.
With the annulment overturned, Mr Nyindam’s position as Member of Parliament for Kpandai has effectively been reinstated.
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