Declare Kpandai seat vacant — Majority tells Bagbin

The Majority in Parliament has called on the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to declare the Kpandai seat vacant after the Tamale High Court annulled the constituency’s 2024 parliamentary election results.

According to the caucus, Kpandai MP Matthew Nyindam must step aside from parliamentary duties until the rerun of the election is concluded.

They argue that both the MP and Parliament have been duly served with the court’s ruling ordering a fresh election following a legal challenge, and therefore Nyindam should not continue to participate in the House’s proceedings.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, referenced past events and called for the MP to be removed from the chamber.

“Mr. Speaker, I’m not raising these matters whimsically because precedent will guide us. Mr Speaker, when the Honourable Gyakye Quayson was ordered by the court that he should go through re-run, Members of this side at the time, mainly led by the now Minority Leader, spoke vociferously against the fact that the Honourable Gyakye Quayson cannot be entertained in this house.

“Eventually, he had to leave. This is a path that we have travelled. Precedent has been set and laid. Nobody can tell us in this house today that the Honourable Nyindam must have a voice today. It won’t happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minority has vowed to resist any attempt to bar Nyindam from representing his constituents.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, November 26, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the caucus would challenge any effort to remove Nyindam from Parliament before all legal processes are fully exhausted.