A dramatic confrontation broke out in Parliament on Wednesday after the Majority Caucus demanded that the Speaker of Parliament declare the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Kpandai, Mathew Nyindam, persona non grata following the Tamale High Court’s annulment of his 2024 parliamentary election.
Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who made the demand, argued that the High Court ruling, which nullified Nyindam’s election and ordered a rerun, had been officially served on Parliament, and therefore, the Kpandai MP should be barred from participating in any parliamentary proceedings, including the ongoing debate on the 2026 Budget Statement.
The confrontation erupted when Mr Nyindam rose to contribute to the 2026 budget debate, prompting the Majority to challenge his eligibility to speak because he was no longer a recognised Member of Parliament as a result of the court’s decision.
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Dafeamekpor insisted that Parliament must respect the Tamale High Court ruling that annulled the Kpandai 2024 parliamentary election, emphasising that Nyindam’s appeal does not amount to a stay of execution. He stressed that both the Speaker, the Clerk to Parliament, and Parliament’s Legal Department had been duly served.
According to him, precedent demands that Nyindam be ordered out of the Chamber, citing the removal of former Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, after a Cape Coast High Court ruling. He said Parliament had a legal obligation not to extend parliamentary courtesies to a lawmaker whose election had been invalidated.
However, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin rejected the Majority’s request, warning that it would not happen under his watch. He dismissed claims that he previously pushed for Gyakye Quayson to be marched out of Parliament, insisting that Mr Quayson was allowed to remain in the House because he had filed both an appeal and a stay of execution.
Afenyo-Markin argued that the Gyakye Quayson case was materially different, noting that the full judgment in Nyindam’s case would not even be available until Friday. He insisted that any decision to remove a sitting MP must be determined solely by the Speaker of Parliament and not by pressure from the Majority side.
Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, who presided over the sitting, later disclosed that he had received a directive from the Speaker to suspend any action on the matter until the Speaker himself returned to the chair, effectively halting the Majority’s push to evict the Kpandai MP.
The clash highlights growing political tensions surrounding the annulled Kpandai parliamentary election and the impending rerun ordered by the Tamale High Court, a development the Minority has already described as a dangerous precedent with potential implications for electoral stability.