Former Vice-President and flagbearer hopeful of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has strongly criticised the speed with which state institutions moved to declare the Kpandai parliamentary seat vacant, describing the decision as “deeply disappointing” and a threat to Ghana’s democratic norms.
Speaking publicly on the matter for the first time, Dr. Bawumia said he was alarmed by what was happening the “undermining of the tenets of democracy,” insisting that due legal processes must be allowed to run their full course before any administrative action is taken.
“To say the least, I am very much disappointed about how our institutions of democracy, or the tenets of democracy, are being undermined,” he said. “The issue of Matthew Nyindam is not new in democratic governance. In past cases, all legal procedures were fully exhausted before state institutions took decisions. That is what safeguards the rule of law.”
Dr. Bawumia argued that the situation involving former Kpandai MP Matthew Nyindam does not differ from several precedent cases in Ghana’s electoral history, where appeals and judicial reviews were allowed to conclude before any parliamentary seat was declared vacant.
According to him, Nyindam has already filed an appeal at the High Court and a judicial review at the Supreme Court. Neither of these processes has been heard, let alone concluded, making the declaration premature and unjustified.
“Nyindam has filed for an appeal at the High Court and also a judicial review at the Supreme Court, and none of those cases has been adjudicated,” he stressed. “So why the rush and indecent haste? I think this undermines our institutional democracy. We should pause and allow him to have his say in court just like all the similar cases that were tried. They were not rushed, so why this one? What is different about Matthew Nyindam?”
The NPP flagbearer warned that democracy becomes vulnerable when institutions fail to follow due process or appear politically motivated.
“We should uphold the tenets of democracy. Democracy is something precious that we all subscribe to,” he cautioned. “When we undermine its pillars, we bring it down, and the consequences are very severe.”
He added that the exercise of state power, particularly where the rights of political opponents are concerned, must be guided by restraint and fairness.
“If one has power, you must not think you can abuse it over your opponents and the principle of democracy,” he said. “That is not how democratic societies thrive.”
Dr. Bawumia openly supported the Minority Caucus, which has vowed to challenge the declaration of the Kpandai seat as vacant. The Minority argues that the move is illegal and part of an attempt to force an early by-election.
“I stand by the principles that are being espoused by the Minority in Parliament; they are doing a good job,” Dr. Bawumia said. “We support all the principles they are fighting for in this case.”
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