{"id":106497,"date":"2025-12-12T11:14:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=106497"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:14:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:14:45","slug":"kwaku-azar-warns-ec-against-avoidable-chaos-over-scheduled-kpandai-by-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=106497","title":{"rendered":"Kwaku Azar warns EC against \u201cavoidable chaos\u201d over scheduled Kpandai by-election"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 48 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Legal scholar and governance advocate, Professor Stephen Kweku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has raised concerns over the Electoral Commission\u2019s (EC) decision to hold a by-election in Kpandai on 30th December, 2025, describing the move as premature and constitutionally problematic.<\/p>\n

In a detailed commentary posted on Facebook, the US-based law professor cautioned that proceeding with the by-election before the Court of Appeal rules on the validity of the incumbent MP\u2019s election risks creating what he calls \u201cavoidable chaos\u201d and \u201ccompeting mandates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Asare outlined a scenario in which a new MP could be elected on 30th December, only for the Court of Appeal\u2014scheduled to deliver its judgment on 3rd January, 2026\u2014to reverse the High Court decision that declared the seat vacant.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine that the poll is held and a new candidate emerges victorious,\u201d he wrote. \u201cNow imagine that, just four days later, the Court of Appeal reverses the High Court and affirms that the incumbent was validly elected. What would we be left with?\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, such a situation would leave Parliament with \u201ctwo competing mandates\u201d\u2014one MP elected in the 2024 general elections whose seat was never lawfully vacant, and another elected in a by-election \u201cthat should never have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned that such an outcome would distort constitutional order and place Parliament in an impossible position over who should rightfully occupy the seat.<\/p>\n

Prof. Asare stressed that Ghana\u2019s Constitution is clear on how parliamentary vacancies must be determined. Article 99 requires the full judicial challenge process\u2014including appeals\u2014to be completed before a seat can be deemed vacant.<\/p>\n

\u201cA parliamentary seat becomes vacant only after the full judicial process has run its course. The Clerk and the EC must respect this safeguard, not override it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He argued that concerns about delays in judicial proceedings cannot justify sidestepping constitutional procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cure for delay is procedural reform\u2014not institutional shortcuts that manufacture constitutional crises.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legal expert dismissed claims that the EC\u2019s decision follows the precedent set in the Gyakye Quayson by-election.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is false,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

He argued that the Assin North by-election stemmed from a Supreme Court order\u2014an order from which there was no further appeal\u2014rather than the original High Court ruling. That distinction, he explained, makes the current situation fundamentally different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, the High Court decision was on appeal when the Supreme Court intervened,\u201d he noted, describing that earlier intervention as \u201cconstitutionally unsound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof. Asare questioned the urgency behind scheduling the by-election just weeks before the Court of Appeal\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no constitutional justification for it,\u201d he said. \u201cUntil the Article 99 appeal process has concluded, the High Court\u2019s judgment is provisional, not final, and cannot trigger a by-election.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned that moving ahead prematurely could erode legitimacy, spark unnecessary litigation, and create national confusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of waiting is minimal,\u201d he argued. \u201cThe cost of acting prematurely is national confusion, competing mandates, and avoidable constitutional disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Asare urged state institutions to uphold constitutional order rather than prioritise speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the law has already designed a safe, orderly pathway, rushing to cut corners is not efficiency\u2014it is recklessness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur institutions must resist the temptation to \u2018do corner fast\u2019 at the expense of the Constitution. We deserve order, not expediency.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ProfLegal scholar and governance advocate, Professor Stephen Kweku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has raised concerns over the Electoral Commission\u2019s (EC) decision to hold a by-election in Kpandai on 30th December, 2025, describing the move as premature and constitutionally problematic.<\/p>\n

In a detailed commentary posted on Facebook, the US-based law professor cautioned that proceeding with the by-election before the Court of Appeal rules on the validity of the incumbent MP\u2019s election risks creating what he calls \u201cavoidable chaos\u201d and \u201ccompeting mandates.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[262,2006,12882,13780,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ec","category-hp-news-7","category-kpandai","category-kwaku-azar","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}