Parliament In Complete Disorder •Minority Protests Kpandai Vacancy

Ghana’s Parliament witnessed unpleasant scenes yesterday evening when Members from both sides left their seats and marched to the center of the floor of the Chamber when the House was in session was Speaker Alban Bagbin was presiding.

The Minority Members were the first to move out of the seat and were soon joined by some members of the Majority resulting is a brief moment of pushing and shoving of each other amidst yelling and punching clenched fists skywards with some wagging their forefingers.

The Speaker was simply unable to restore order.

Even after the Majority MPs had returned to their seats, the Minority MPs continued their protest amidst all manner of yelling and singing.

The disruptions started earlier on when the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annor-Dompreh led his Caucus to demand that a letter issued by the Clerk to Parliament which declared the Kpandai parliamentary seat as vacant and addressed same to the Electoral Commission (EC) must be withdrawn immediately.

 Annor-Dompreh and Members from his Caucus has argued vehemently that the said letter and declaration of the seat as vacant was premature, unlawful and procedurally flawed.

 But the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga argued otherwise that the Clerk was perfectly right and that no procedure had been breached.

The arguments became heated to an extent the House had to adjourn but even when they returned, there was no middle ground for agreement.

 

Osahen Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader has been out of the country and his side was yesterday led by the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annor-Dompreh.

Minority Chief Whip and MP for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who raised the matter on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. He criticized the letter as “out of place, unfortunate, and contrary to law and procedural justice.”

According to him, the Minority was not consulted before the Clerk to Parliament wrote to the EC about the vacancy. He insisted that such an important communication must follow due process and reflect the Speaker’s earlier guidance on the issue.

“Speaker, we strongly submit that the letter that was given to the Electoral Commission, was out of place, was unfortunate, and flies in the face of law and procedural justice.

I submit to you that the letter declaring the Kpandai seat vacant must be recalled immediately. This decision will not stand. We humbly call upon you to instruct the Clerk to withdraw that letter and act in accordance with the law.” he said.

He warned that the action could send the wrong signal to the public about how the House handles sensitive matters, emphasizing that Parliament risked setting a bad example for the country if the mistake was not corrected.

Mr. Annoh-Dompreh added that the matter required swift correction to preserve the integrity of Parliament’s actions.

He went on to emphasise that the Minority would not support the decision communicated in the letter.

 

“We, in the minority, do not agree to the writing of this letter. We take a strong position that the letter must be withdrawn forthwith, and as a cradle of democracy, we must be seen to be setting a very good example for the populace of this country to follow suit.

“Ghana is a flourishing democracy, and the least we can do is uphold due process, respect the provisions of our laws, and avoid decisions that fly in the face of logic and procedural justice”.

The letter at the centre of the dispute was dated December 4, 2025, and signed by the Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror. Addressed to EC Chairperson Jean Mensah, it stated,

“In exercise of the power conferred and the duty imposed on the Clerk to Parliament by Article 112(5) of the 1992 Constitution, I hereby formally notify you of the occurrence of a vacancy in the membership of Parliament…”

The notification followed a ruling by the Tamale High Court on November 24, 2025. The court ordered a rerun of the parliamentary election in the Kpandai Constituency after NDC candidate Daniel Nsala Wakpal challenged the declaration of Matthew Nyindam as the elected MP.

The court directed the EC to conduct fresh polls within 30 days. However, the Minority insists that even though the rerun is lawful, Parliament’s communication to the EC must still follow correct procedure, something they argue did not happen in this case.