The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has strongly criticised the Tamale High Court ruling ordering a rerun of the 2024 parliamentary election in the Kpandai constituency, describing the decision as dangerous and a threat to Ghana’s democratic progress.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, NPP Director of Elections and Research, Evans Nimako, said the party cannot accept the court’s decision, insisting it goes beyond the petitioner’s own claims.
“This cannot be a ruling that you expect the New Patriotic Party to say is a welcoming decision from a competent court of jurisdiction. For me, this is a dangerous ruling. The intent is to erode all the political and democratic gains we’ve made as a country,” he said.
Mr. Nimako argued that the petitioner’s case involved alleged infractions in 41 out of 152 polling stations.
Yet, the court annulled the results for the entire constituency instead of focusing on the areas in dispute.
“A petitioner comes to court with a plea that in 41 polling stations there have been some infractions, and you then give a ruling that, assuming, without admitting, that yes, the 41 had issues, the other 111, where there were no issues, should also be cancelled? What kind of dangerous ruling is this?” he questioned.
He added that the NPP won the seat by a margin of nearly 4,000 votes, securing 53.47% of the total ballots cast, and therefore finds it difficult to understand why the whole election should be annulled.
“This is a constituency the party won decisively. And you are telling me that you, the judge, will go beyond the plea of the petitioner? I don’t think this is the way to go,” he stressed.
The party has already filed an appeal, insisting that the ruling is legally flawed and must be overturned.