Dafeamekpor demands Kpandai MP be declared persona non grata

A sharp disagreement broke out in Parliament on Wednesday after the Majority Caucus asked the Speaker to bar the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Kpandai, Matthew Nyindam, from participating in House proceedings following a High Court ruling that annulled his election.

The Majority’s position was led by Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who told the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako—presiding at the time—that Parliament had been formally served with the Tamale High Court order, and must therefore prevent Mr. Nyindam from contributing to business on the floor.

According to Mr. Dafeamekpor, the court’s directive, delivered on November 24, 2025, invalidates the Kpandai parliamentary results and mandates a rerun within 30 days. He argued that, once Parliament has been served, the House has a legal obligation to stop extending privileges and recognition to Mr. Nyindam until a fresh election determines whether he retains the seat.

He said the principle was not new, recalling the precedent involving Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson when the Cape Coast High Court ordered a rerun.
“This is a path the House has travelled before,” he said, adding that neither the filing of an appeal nor an application for stay of execution prevents the enforcement of a High Court order.

But Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin firmly rejected the request, challenging the Majority’s interpretation of the earlier precedent. He said at no point did he—when leading the then-Majority—ask the Speaker to eject Mr. Quayson from the Chamber, noting that Quayson remained in the House after filing an appeal and stay of execution.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin insisted that the authority to determine whether an MP may be barred from the Chamber rests solely with the Speaker, not the caucuses, and cautioned against what he described as an “inappropriate” attempt to compel the Speaker to act.

He also argued that, unlike in the Quayson case where the judgment was immediately available to MPs, the full ruling in the Nyindam matter would only be accessible on Friday. For that reason, he urged the presiding Speaker to dismiss the Majority’s request.

Second Deputy Speaker Asiamah Amoako later informed the House that he had received a written directive from Speaker Alban Bagbin to suspend any decision on the matter until the Speaker himself returns to the chair.

The standoff comes two days after the court nullified the Kpandai results, adding further political focus on the constituency ahead of the court-ordered rerun.