Awal Mohammed, a communications member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has described proceedings at the Tamale High Court that annulled the Kpandai parliamentary election as fundamentally flawed, arguing that the election petition was filed outside the constitutionally required timeframe.

Speaking on Joy FM’s AM Show, Awal Mohammed said the controversy centres on the interpretation of CI 127, which mandates that an election petition must be filed within 21 days from the date a parliamentary result is gazetted.

According to him, the petition filed at the High Court breached this requirement and should therefore be struck out.

“CI 127 is clear that from the Gazette to the date of filing the petition should be within 21 days, which is mandatory,” he said. “The right Gazette is the one dated December 24. This was declared by the Supreme Court on June 11 this year, and between December 24 and January 25 when the petition was filed, it is 32 days.”

His comments come as the Supreme Court is expected to today, Tuesday, December 16, consider an application challenging the Tamale High Court’s decision to set aside the results of the December 7, 2024, parliamentary election in the Kpandai constituency.

The application was filed by the Kpandai Member of Parliament, Mathew Nyindam of the NPP, who is contesting the High Court’s ruling that annulled his election. He argues that the court wrongly assumed jurisdiction over the matter and that the election petition was invalid from the outset.

The High Court judgment followed a petition filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who challenged the outcome of the polls in the constituency.

In his application to the apex court, Mr Nyindam is asking for the High Court’s decision to be reviewed and quashed, insisting that all proceedings arising from the petition should be set aside. He maintains that the High Court acted outside its legal mandate and committed errors that justify the Supreme Court’s intervention through judicial review.

The Supreme Court’s decision is expected to have significant implications for the Kpandai parliamentary seat and could further clarify the application of CI 127 in election petition timelines.