The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rashid Tanko-Computer, has challenged the Supreme Court’s authority to hear election petition cases.

He argues that Article 91(1) of the Constitution does not grant the apex court the power to determine election petitions, maintaining that jurisdiction over such cases lies solely with the High Court.

"The Supreme Court doesn't have the jurisdiction of the substance of the matter. If you look at the PNDC Law 284. That of the election petition, under article 91 (1) of the constitution, it is only the High Court that goes into the election petition matter, the Supreme Court doesn't deal with that," he argued.

He argued that although the apex court has supervisory authority over all matters, it is unconstitutional for it to adjudicate an election petition: “When it comes to the substance of the matter and the intricacies of an election petition under Article 91(1), it is the High Court that has jurisdiction, not the Supreme Court.”

Mr Tanko-Computer made the remarks during JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, January 31, in reaction to the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the Kpandai parliamentary election.

On January 28, the Supreme Court, in a 4–1 split decision, set aside a High Court judgment that had nullified the Kpandai parliamentary election, which was won by Matthew Nyindam of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The ruling came after Mr Nyindam filed an application asking the apex court to exercise its supervisory authority, arguing that the High Court acted beyond its jurisdiction in annulling the election.

The Supreme Court agreed with his argument, a move that reinstated him as the duly elected Member of Parliament.

According to Tanko-Computer, the apex court’s intervention reflects a flawed reading of the constitutional provisions on election disputes, warning that such rulings risk weakening coherence and predictability within Ghana’s electoral justice system.

Mr Tanko-Computer added that the NDC is not satisfied with the ruling, "We are a law-abiding political party, but we disagree with the ruling."

"We are waiting for the reason behind their ruling on the 6th of February, and we will advise ourselves appropriately," he emphasised.

Controversies surrounding the Kpandai parliamentary seat have received a reaction from the Supreme Court. Today, Tuesday, December 16, the Supreme Court ordered that the parliamentary rerun election in the area, scheduled for Tuesday, December 30, be suspended until further notice.

The legal team of New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate Matthew Nyindam has also been directed by the Supreme Court to follow due process in serving the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal. Meanwhile, Tuesday, January 13, 2026, has been set for the next hearing.

Weeks ago, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kpandai constituency, Mathew Nyindam, filed an application challenging the recent High Court ruling on the 2024 parliamentary elections in the area.

Earlier this year, the former Member of Parliament and NDC parliamentary candidate for Kpandai, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, submitted a petition to the Tamale High Court challenging the results of the 2024 parliamentary election in the constituency.

According to the petitioner, the Kpandai parliamentary election was marred by irregularities in the voting and collation processes. He argued that Pink Sheets from many polling stations were not accurate or consistent.

He stated: “The parliamentary election held in the Kpandai constituency on 7th December 2024 was not conducted in compliance with Regulations 39 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (CI 127) and the principles laid down by Regulations 39, and that the said non-compliance affected the results of the elections.

“The declaration and publication of the parliamentary election results held in the Kpandai constituency on 7th December 2024 were not made in compliance with Regulations 43 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I 127) and the principles laid down by Regulations 43, and that the said non-compliance affected the entire results of the parliamentary elections in the Kpandai constituency.”

However, Mathew Nyindam has argued that “The Parliamentary Election Petition filed by the 1st Interested Party on 25th January 2025, in respect of the Parliamentary Election held at the Kpandai Constituency on 7th December 2024, was invalid and could not have properly invoked the jurisdiction of the High Court, Commercial Division, Tamale.”

This will be the second time the country has had a rerun of elections after the 2024 general polls. Ablekuma North had remained the only constituency in Ghana without a sitting MP due to unresolved disagreements over the outcome of the parliamentary vote.

In view of this, the Electoral Commission (EC) on Friday, July 11, held a rerun election in 19 polling stations in Ablekuma North to provide constituents with a representative. Ewurabena Aubynn polled 34,090 votes to beat the NPP’s Akua Afriyie, who secured 33,881 votes.

On December 10, 2024, three days after the national polls, the EC declared Ewurabena Aubynn of the NDC the winner of the Ablekuma North parliamentary seat, defeating the NPP’s Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh.

However, the EC later revoked the announcement, revealing that results from 62 of the 281 polling stations had not been included in the initial collation.

Efforts to restart the collation in January 2025 were disrupted by multiple challenges. These included interruptions due to the submission of unverified Pink Sheets and a violent intrusion at the collation centre that heightened security concerns.

After extensive deliberations, the Electoral Commission in July announced that it would hold a rerun election because the 19 scanned polling station results used for the collation, though approved by agents of both political parties, were not verified by the presiding officers responsible for those polling stations.

The EC arrived at this decision after meeting with representatives of the NDC and the NPP on Tuesday, July 1.