BY VALENTIA TETTEH
The Minority in Parliament is demanding the immediate withdrawal of a letter formally notifying the Electoral Commission (EC) that the Kpandai parliamentary seat has become vacant, following a High Court order for a rerun of the constituency’s election.
Parliament, on Monday, December 8, 2025, wrote to the EC indicating the seat was vacant in compliance with a directive from the Tamale High Court. The Court had ordered a rerun of the Kpandai Parliamentary Election after determining a legal challenge brought before it.
In the letter dated December 4, 2025, the Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, informed the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, that the seat had become vacant pursuant to the ruling delivered on November 24, 2025.
However, speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh criticised the action, insisting it was unlawful and violated parliamentary procedure. He described the notification as “out of place” and “unfortunate.”
“Mr Speaker, there is a letter that was sent into the House to declare the Kpandai seat vacant. That letter is out of place, unfortunate, and goes against the rule of law. We strongly submit that the letter must be withdrawn by Parliament. We in the Minority will not agree to the writing of this letter. The Clerk must be instructed to withdraw the letter,” he said.
Annoh-Dompreh further argued that Parliament acted prematurely, especially as a motion for stay of execution remains pending before the court.
“We strongly submit that the letter that was filed with the Electoral Commission was out of place, was unfortunate, and flies in the face of law and procedural justice,” he said. “That letter must be withdrawn forthwith… Ghana is a fledgling democracy, and the least we can do is to support the procedure.”
The earlier letter sent to the EC by the Parliamentary Service invoked Article 112(5) of the Constitution and triggered the administrative processes required to prepare for a by-election in Kpandai.
But the Minority insists that until the legal processes are fully exhausted, Parliament must not proceed as though the court’s ruling is final.
“We on this side of the House cannot support that decision,” the Minority Chief Whip stressed. “The Clerk must be instructed forthwith to withdraw that letter and act according to law.”
Annoh-Dompreh also reminded the House of previous moments where both Majority and Minority cooperated despite numerical constraints, urging the Speaker to show consistency and fairness in guiding parliamentary actions.
