Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, has ruled that the Kpandai parliamentary seat should not be declared vacant at this time, despite a recent court judgment that annulled the 2024 election results for the constituency and ordered a rerun.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Bagbin noted that the High Court’s annulment of the election results effectively invalidates the earlier declaration of Matthew Nyindam as MP. However, he said enforcement of that decision is subject to a mandatory statutory “stay of execution” under the rules governing appealable High Court judgements.
Under those rules, specifically the Court of Appeal Rules (CI 19), as amended by CI 132, once such a High Court ruling is delivered, there is an automatic seven-day window during which the judgement cannot be acted upon, to allow for the possibility of appeal. The Speaker said that window remains in force until December 1, 2025. He added that if Mr Nyindam files an appeal, further legal steps would apply.
Because of this statutory stay, the Speaker held that the Clerk of Parliament cannot yet notify the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) that the seat is vacant, nor can the House bar Mr Nyindam from participating in parliamentary proceedings.
The decision comes after the NDC majority caucus pushed aggressively for an immediate declaration of vacancy and the exclusion of Mr Nyindam from Parliament, citing judicial precedent from earlier seat-vacancy cases.
By contrast, the NPP minority caucus welcomed the Speaker’s stance. The NDC described it as consistent with constitutional and procedural safeguards. Minority leaders also affirmed that due process must be respected before any action is taken against the MP.
The Speaker’s ruling rests on established procedural law. Under the relevant Court of Appeal Rules, certain High Court judgments automatically attract a seven-day stay of execution when they are appealable.
Mr Bagbin also cited jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Ghana and the Court of Appeal of Ghana, including judgments in cases such as Mensah v GCB (2005–2006) and Clenam Construction Ltd v Valcum Crest (2022), which hold that any attempt to act on a High Court judgment before the stay expires is legally void.
Accordingly, Speaker Bagbin reasoned that to declare the seat vacant — or to bar Mr Nyindam from Parliament — before December 1 would amount to acting unlawfully.
Parliament is expected to await the expiration of the seven-day stay — on December 1 — and any appeal filed by Mr Nyindam before making further procedural moves regarding the Kpandai seat.
If no appeal is filed, the Clerk of Parliament may eventually notify the EC to organise a rerun election. But should an appeal proceed, the matter would remain in legal limbo until resolved. Meanwhile, Mr Nyindam continues to sit and vote in the House.
