Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, has defended the timing of the NDC’s election petition in the Kpandai parliamentary dispute.
The South Dayi MP insists that the case was filed within the legally required period.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, he challenged the core argument behind NPP MP Mathew Nyindam’s application before the Supreme Court.
Mr Nyindam claims the High Court lacked jurisdiction because the petition was filed outside the statutory window.
But Dafeamekpor rejected that claim.
The private legal practitioner said the petitioners acted within the correct timeline and relied on the Electoral Commission’s final Gazette, not earlier publications.
“We were within time,” he stressed. “We know our calculation, our maths is not that bad.”
He explained that by January 24, the Electoral Commission had not completed work on all the constituencies that were still being contested.
For that reason, a full Gazette covering all 276 seats had not yet been issued. He said that only the final Gazette can be used in law.
“They brought the 24th December one. The court rejected it,” he said.
He stated that the court dismissed the earlier Gazette because it was not the EC’s last official publication.
The South Dayi said the EC made this clear when it appeared before the court. “The EC testified that this is their final Gazette notification,” he noted.
When asked how many Gazettes the EC released before the final one, he said he could not tell the exact number. But he insisted that the principle remains the same.
“Even if the EC releases several Gazette notifications, the last in time will take precedence over all the previous. That is the law.”
The Kpandai seat case has reached the Supreme Court after the High Court in Tamale annulled Nyindam’s 2024 parliamentary victory and ordered a rerun.
Mr Nyindam is seeking to overturn that ruling, arguing that the court acted outside its jurisdiction because the petition was supposedly filed late.
Mr Dafeamekpor disagrees and says the High Court acted correctly because the petition relied on the only Gazette that holds legal weight.
He maintained that the NDC’s position is grounded in clear constitutional procedure and that the facts show the petition was properly lodged.
For him, the Supreme Court challenge does not change the essential point. “We were within time,” he insisted.