Parliamentary proceedings were brought to a standstill on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, as Minority members, dressed in black, staged a vociferous protest.
They vowed to block all business until the Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Djietror, withdraws his official notification to the Electoral Commission declaring the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant.
The Minority contends that the Clerk’s action is premature, given that an appeal is pending at the Court of Appeal and an application for judicial review has been filed at the Supreme Court.
Their protest, marked by chants, patriotic songs, and placards reading “Where is the National Peace Council?” and “Are Journalists on JDM’s Payroll?”, directly targeted the Clerk, whom they called upon to resign.
The session, which began at 12 p.m., was repeatedly disrupted. Speaker Alban Bagbin was forced to temporarily suspend the sitting and vacate the chair after the Minority defied his calls for order.
Even upon resumption and the Speaker’s appeal for peace so that “business must go on… in the interest of the public,” the protests persisted.
Attempts by the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga to address the House were shouted down by the Minority, who insisted proceedings could not continue unless the letter to the EC was recalled.
The escalating tensions prompted Speaker Bagbin to call a second recess and ultimately suspend the sitting for five minutes to facilitate a leadership conclave between both sides, in hopes of resolving the impasse.
The controversy stems from a Tamale High Court ruling on November 24, 2025, which ordered a rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary election within 30 days due to irregularities in voting and collation.
Acting on this order, Clerk Djietror formally notified the EC of the vacancy, as required by constitutional duty.
However, the legal team for the affected MP, Matthew Nyindam, has challenged the ruling, filing both an appeal and an application for judicial review, arguing the seat should not be considered vacant while these legal processes are underway.
