The Minority in Parliament has cautioned that Parliament must never act ahead of the law, insisting that administrative decisions should not pre-empt ongoing judicial processes or create what it describes as “manufactured vacancies” in the House.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, January 28, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the annulment of the 2024 parliamentary election in Kpandai, the Minority said the ruling offers a sobering lesson to all constitutional actors on the need for restraint and respect for due process.
“Parliament must not move faster than the law; administrative letters must not outrun judicial processes; and no arm of government should lend itself to the creation of manufactured vacancies in the House,” the Minority stressed.
The comments come after the Supreme Court, by a 4–1 majority, quashed the judgment of the Tamale High Court which had purported to annul the election of Matthew Nyindam and ordered a rerun in the Kpandai constituency.
The apex court held that the election petition was filed outside the strict statutory timelines prescribed by law, thereby stripping the High Court of jurisdiction.
According to the Minority, the ruling not only restores the lawful mandate freely conferred by the people of Kpandai on their Member of Parliament but also reaffirms the primacy of the Constitution, due process and electoral finality in Ghana’s democracy.
While welcoming the decision, the Minority criticised what it described as the “reckless and constitutionally unsafe” haste with which Parliament, acting through the Clerk, moved to declare the Kpandai seat vacant and notify the Electoral Commission (EC) while live court processes, including applications for stay, were still pending.
They noted that the letter to the Electoral Commission, issued on the back of a single first-instance High Court judgment, triggered preparations for a December 30, 2025 rerun, plans that were later halted by the Supreme Court.
The Minority argued that such actions departed sharply from Parliament’s long-standing tradition of waiting for final judicial determination before activating vacancy procedures.
The statement recalled several precedents, including the cases of Dan Abodakpi, Adamu Dramani Sakande, Kwame Nyimakan and James Gyakye Quayson, where Parliament exercised restraint and preserved representation until appellate processes were concluded or explicit final court orders were issued.
“In sharp contrast, Kpandai was treated as a seat that could be stripped away almost automatically on the basis of a contested High Court decision,” the Minority said, adding that this posture was unlawful, premature and dangerous for the rule of law.
They said the Supreme Court’s ruling has fully vindicated their position, noting that the very judgment upon which the declaration of vacancy and the planned rerun were based has now been declared a “nullity for want of jurisdiction.”
The Minority called on all arms of government to draw lessons from the episode and recommit to constitutional restraint, judicial hierarchy and the protection of parliamentary representation until all legal processes are fully exhausted.
Read the full statement below
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
