By Francis Kobena Tandoh
New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kpandai Constituency, Matthew Nyindam, through his lawyers, on Monday filed a notice of appeal against the Tamale High Court’s decision.
Simultaneously, they have filed a motion for stay of execution hence asking the court to pause the rerun order until the appeal is fully determined.
According to his counsel, the notice of appeal was filed at 10:04 a.m., and the stay motion at 10:13 a.m. on the same day.
The opposing party, the National Democratic Congress, has reportedly been served with these processes.
Nyindam’s legal team argues that the High Court ruling is legally flawed. They defend the Electoral Commission’s relocation of the collation centre.
According to them, there was violence at the original centre, and under Regulation 48 of CI 127, the EC has the right to move the collation centre.
They also argue that even the polling stations in dispute (the 41 stations mentioned by the petition) would not have changed the outcome materially and that the number of votes allegedly affected by their count would not have overturned his margin.
Nyindam insists he is still the legitimately elected MP, citing his 3,734-vote margin, and accuses the NDC of using state influence to try to reverse the result via the court.
According to the NPP MP, the judgment by the Tamale High Court is “politically influenced” and does not reflect the will of the people of Kpandai.
He remains confident that the case will be overturned on appeal. “We have filed our stay of execution and the appeal … we will take it from there,” said Nyindam.
According to his legal counsel, they prepared for this possibility in advance. “As a lawyer … you come for the judgment with a notice of appeal in your pocket, and that was exactly what I did.”
By filing a motion for stay of execution, Nyindam’s team is trying to prevent the Electoral Commission from immediately conducting the rerun, at least until the appeal is heard.
Nyindam’s camp argues that some of the key electoral regulations cited in the judgment relating to collation, polling station results, etc. were misapplied or misinterpreted by the High Court.
If the Court of Appeal grants the stay, the rerun may not happen, or may be delayed until the appeal is decided.
The appeal will likely focus heavily on electoral law (CI 127), especially about the collation centre relocation and whether procedural irregularities were “material” enough to nullify the election.
The political implications are big. If Nyindam wins on appeal, he could keep his seat; if not, a by-election/rerun becomes more certain.
For Kpandai constituents, the outcome of this appeal will determine whether they go back to the polls soon or not. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
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