The Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament has mounted pressure on Speaker Alban Bagbin, demanding the immediate withdrawal of a letter sent to the Electoral Commission (EC) declaring the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant.
The Speaker declared the Kpandai seat vacant on Monday, December 8, 2025, compelling Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror to notify the EC about the vacancy of the seat in Parliament and for the country’s election management body to conduct a bye-election in that constituency.
This followed a ruling by the Tamale High Court, annulling the election of Mr. Matthew Kwame Nyindam, the NPP MP for Kpandai in the 2024 parliamentary election and ordering a rerun.
However, the Minority insisted that the Speaker acted prematurely in announcing the vacancy and instructing the Clerk to Parliament to write to the EC, despite a pending application for a stay of execution.
Raising the disturbing issue on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday December 9, 2025, Mr. Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Minority Chief Whip, questioned forcefully, the Speaker’s decision.
“Mr. Speaker, yesterday, 8th December 2025, you declared the Kpandai Parliamentary seat vacant. Respectfully, this decision has generated profound concern not only among Members of this House but across the nation,” he said.
He argued that the Speaker’s action contradicted established parliamentary procedure and argued it was not right that where an application for stay of execution was pending for determination, any proceeding for execution of the judgment should be carried.
The Minority Caucus also rejected the Clerk’s letter to the EC, insisting it violated due process because the stay-of-execution application filed by Mr. Nyindam was still pending before the court.
“We strongly submit that the letter to the Electoral Commission was out of place, unfortunate, and flies in the face of procedural justice.
“We call on you, Mr Speaker, to instruct the Clerk to withdraw that letter forthwith. We cannot, and will not, support this decision,” Mr. Annoh-Dompreh demanded when the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor was presiding over proceedings in the House.
He cautioned that Ghana is a fledgling democracy and the least Parliament can do is respect procedure and avoid decisions that undermine its integrity.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh reminded the House that Speaker Bagbin himself took different position just weeks earlier when the Majority whip requested the Kpandai seat be declared vacant following the court ruling.
Reminding the House that in the 8th Parliament when Assin North MP, James Quayson faced a similar situation, the Minority Chief Whip recalled the Speaker maintained that Parliament must not act while a stay of execution application was pending in court.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh questioned what he described as a troubling inconsistency stating, “What explains the abrupt change from the binding reasoning you articulated on 24th November? Why does the stay rule apply in one circumstance but not the other? Is it because Hon. Matthew Nyindam is a member of the New Patriotic Party?”
Mr Annoh-Dompreh who is also the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP cautioned that selective application of rules could undermine parliamentary democracy.
“The law does not discriminate. The legitimacy of this House depends on our consistency,” he emphasised.
The Minority Chief Whip warned that if Parliament begins to act as though legal rules are optional, binding on some people and dispensable on others, it risks sliding into a dangerous culture of political tit-for-tat where each majority and minority waits its turn for retaliation.
That, he said, threatens the stability of Ghana’s democracy.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh warned that what may seem convenient for one side today could easily be used against another tomorrow if the House chooses to abandon principle now.
“We risk leaving future Parliaments with a legacy of inconsistency, one that encourages political retaliation, undermines the authority of the Speaker’s Chair, and erodes public trust in this institution.
“We must rise above partisanship. This House must do better, act better, and recommit itself to principled, consistent, and lawful parliamentary practice,” he stated.
Mr. Nyindam filed an application for stay of execution, an appeal at the Court of Appeal and a certiorari at the Supreme Court to quash the ruling of the Tamale High Court, all of which are yet to be determined.
The Minority insisted that until these legal processes are concluded, declaring the seat vacant is unlawful.
