The High Court’s decision to invalidate the results of the 2024 parliamentary election in the Kpandai Constituency has drawn criticism from the Minority Caucus in Parliament, which maintains that the decision does not accurately reflect the facts revealed during both the election and the trial.
According to a statement issued by Minority Leader Osahen Afenyo-Markin, the Electoral Commission (EC) carried out a transparent, reliable, and accurate process that amply demonstrated the Kpandai people’s will.
The statement claims that NPP parliamentary candidate Hon. Mathew Nyindam defeated NDC candidate Hon. Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who received 24,213 votes, by 3,734 votes, obtaining 27,947 votes in the December 2024 election.
According to the Minority, following the NDC’s victory in the constituency’s presidential election, Hon. Wakpal allegedly drove a group of supporters wearing T-shirts bearing the NDC insignia to the collation center in a Mahindra pickup.
Assuming that the EC did not have the pink papers needed to do the final collation, the group allegedly attempted to disrupt the process by damaging several ballot boxes.
The EC moved the final declaration to its regional office in Tamale due to the disarray, which posed serious security threats.
The Minority points out that NDC operatives had already verified the accuracy of the results by signing the pink sheets at each of the 152 voting places.
The allegation further states that after realizing he was falling behind, Mr. Wakpal declined to continue the collation in Tamale.
After finishing its work in Tamale, the EC formally proclaimed Hon. Nyindam the victor.
Later, Wakpal challenged the declaration in a petition to the Tamale High Court, citing his absence from Tamale and purported clerical irregularities in 41 polling places.
However, testimony given during the trial indicated that there were only about 500 votes up for grabs, which is much less than the victory margin.
“Even if all 500 votes had been awarded to the NDC candidate, the election outcome would not have changed,” the statement said, adding that the High Court’s decision to overturn the entire result raises major issues.
The Minority Caucus has since filed a notice of appeal and an application for a stay of execution, expressing confidence that the appellate process will overturn what they call an unjust judgment.
The Minority Leader underlined their commitment to preserving the rule of law and protecting the lawful choices of the people of Kpandai.
Source: newsthemegh.com