"Our Institutions of Democracy Are Being Undermined": Bawumia Speaks on Kpandai Election Rerun
- Former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has voiced his disappointment over Parliament's decision to declare the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant
- He criticised the NDC for allegedly undermining Ghana's democratic institutions
- Dr. Bawumia also called for a halt to the election rerun, urging that legal processes be fully adjudicated before any further actions are taken
Former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has broken his silence on the Kpandai parliamentary seat controversy.
Speaking with the media on the sidelines of a campaign event, the former Vice President expressed his disappointment in Parliament's decision to declare the Kpandai seat vacant.
Source: Facebook
He said there seems to be a grand effort by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to undermine Ghana's democratic tenets and institutions.
"To say the least, I’m very, very disappointed in what is going on in our country. It looks like our institutions of democracy and our tenets of democracy are being undermined," he said.
Dr. Bawumia made these remarks while reacting to the Electoral Commission's announcement of a date for the Kpandai parliamentary election rerun.
The EC, on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, announced to the general public that it would hold the Kpandai parliamentary election on Tuesday, December 30, 2025.
This follows an order from the Tamale High Court for the commission to rerun the elections within 30 days after annulling the 2024 results.
Issues surrounding the Kpandai parliamentary seat
During the 2024 general elections, the NPP's Matthew Nyindam was declared the winner of the parliamentary contest.
However, the NDC candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who was the incumbent MP, challenged the results at the Tamale High Court.
In his petition to the court, Daniel Wakpal argued that the election was fraught with irregularities.
He cited inconsistencies in the pink sheets, particularly Form 8A from 41 out of 152 polling stations, and asked the court to nullify the election and order a rerun.
The Tamale High Court, after months of litigation, upheld the petition and ordered a rerun of the entire election in Kpandai.
Dissatisfied with this, Matthew Nyindam filed for a review of the ruling at the Supreme Court.
He also filed for a stay of execution of the Tamale High Court’s order for a rerun of the 2024 Kpandai parliamentary elections.
None of the cases filed by the embattled politician has, however, been heard.
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Bawumia wants Kpandai election rerun halted
The former Vice President stated that the issue of Kpandai, involving Matthew Nyindam, was not new in Ghana's body politics, citing several cases, including the recent one involving the NDC's James Gyakye Quayson.
Based on this, the former Vice President said Parliament ought to have allowed Matthew Nyindam's legal process to be exhausted before declaring the seat vacant.
"The issue of Kpandai, with Matthew Nyindam, is not a new issue in our democratic politics. We've had issues with Dan Abodakpi, issues with Gyakye Quayson in Assin, and basically, you have the House allow the court and the legal processes to take place and be exhausted before state institutions are stampeded into acting in ways that undermine democracy," he further stated.
He also questioned the haste to rerun the elections, calling for a halt until the court processes filed by Matthew Nyindam are adjudicated.
"Matthew Nyindam should be given his day in court. He has filed appeal processes at the High Court, he has filed for a judicial review at the Supreme Court, and none of those cases has been adjudicated. So why the rush, why the indecent haste? I think that he's being railroaded," he stated.
"I think that this undermines our institutions of democracy. We should take a halt to these processes and allow him to have his day in court just as others have done in the past. The House has never really rushed in this way when it came to the other cases. What is the difference in the case of Matthew Nyindam?" he questioned.
Source: Facebook
Nyindam assured of NPP support before rerun
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the NPP had pledged its full support for Kpandai MP Nyindam ahead of an election rerun.
The NPP's National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, said the party would not abandon the MP and would fight with him in court.
The Tamale High Court ordered a rerun of the 2024 parliamentary election after a legal challenge over the original outcome.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
