Fatima Cheers, Miracles Fumes as Apex Court Halts Rerun
By Gifty Boateng
A fresh crack has emerged within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as two of its leading spokespersons Fatima Abubakar and Dennis Miracles Aboagye publicly clashed over the Supreme Court’s decision to suspend the much-anticipated Kpandai parliamentary rerun.
The apex court’s ruling, delivered on Tuesday, December 16, has not only paused the electoral rematch but also exposed deep divisions within the opposition party’s communication front.
While Abubakar, a former Minister for Information and legal counsel to ex-President Akufo-Addo, hailed the decision as a win for due process, Aboagye, chief spokesperson for former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, dismissed it as a calculated delay tactic by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Addressing the media shortly after the ruling, Abubakar welcomed the court’s intervention, emphasizing that the suspension was at the request of the NPP’s own candidate, Matthew Nyindam.
“The applicant actually prayed for the suspension pending the hearing of the substantive matter,” she explained, adding that proceeding with the rerun before a final verdict would have risked prejudicing the court’s authority.
She praised the judiciary’s restraint, stating, “It’s in the interest of justice that we do not proceed with actions that could render the court’s decision nugatory.” Her remarks were measured, legalistic, and in line with the party’s official legal strategy.
But Aboagye, never one to mince words, took to social media to launch a blistering attack on the ruling, accusing the NDC of orchestrating the delay to avoid an electoral embarrassment. “Don’t fall for this,” he warned. “The NDC knows a December 30 rerun in Kpandai is too close to call and they’re not ready.”
He claimed the ruling party is “buying time” to make inroads in a constituency where, according to him, the electorate is already disillusioned. “The people are tired of the packaging and want real action,” he wrote, suggesting the NDC fears a repeat of recent by-election setbacks.
Aboagye further alleged that the NDC is deploying a two-pronged strategy: either delay the rerun long enough to regain lost ground or abandon it altogether to “save face.”
Meanwhile, the NDC has brushed off the NPP’s internal squabbles and welcomed the court’s ruling. Sofo Rashid Tanko, the party’s deputy director of elections, said the delay changes nothing. “Whether now or later, we are ready. The NPP’s defeat is only postponed, not avoided,” he declared.
The NDC’s 2024 candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, who filed the original petition challenging Nyindam’s victory, is yet to be formally served with the Supreme Court’s process. The court has now granted substituted service to move the case forward.
The Supreme Court’s decision stems from a motion filed by Nyindam, who is seeking to overturn the Tamale High Court’s ruling that annulled his 2024 victory and ordered a rerun. Nyindam argues that the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction and committed fundamental legal errors.
Until the court reconvenes on January 13, 2026, the Kpandai seat will remain vacant and the political temperature in the Northern Region will continue to rise.
With both parties intensifying their campaigns on the ground and legal fireworks set to resume in the new year, the Kpandai saga is far from over. But for now, the NPP’s internal discord may prove just as consequential as the court’s final verdict.