Legal scholar and governance advocate Professor Stephen Kweku Asare—widely known as Kwaku Azar—has criticised the Electoral Commission’s decision to conduct a by-election in Kpandai on 30th December, 2025, calling the move premature and constitutionally risky.
In a detailed Facebook commentary, the US-based academic warned that rushing ahead before the Court of Appeal rules on the validity of the incumbent MP’s election could trigger “avoidable chaos” and create “competing mandates.”
Prof. Asare described a potential scenario where a new MP is elected on 30th December, only for the Court of Appeal—set to deliver its ruling on 3rd January 2026—to overturn the High Court judgment that declared the seat vacant. Such an outcome, he argued, would leave Parliament with two individuals both holding legitimate claims to the same seat: the MP elected in 2024 whose mandate was never lawfully withdrawn, and another elected in a by-election “that should never have occurred.”
He emphasised that Ghana’s Constitution clearly outlines how and when parliamentary vacancies arise. Under Article 99, he noted, a seat becomes vacant only after the full judicial challenge process has been completed, including appeals. Any attempt to bypass this requirement, he said, undermines constitutional order.
“A parliamentary seat becomes vacant only after the full judicial process has run its course. The Clerk and the EC must respect this safeguard,” he insisted.
Responding to suggestions that the EC is merely following the precedent of the Gyakye Quayson by-election, Prof. Asare dismissed the comparison as inaccurate. He explained that the Assin North by-election resulted from a final Supreme Court directive—one that had no avenue for further appeal—making it markedly different from the current situation, where the High Court’s ruling remains under review.
Prof. Asare also questioned the haste in scheduling the by-election just weeks before the appellate ruling, saying there is “no constitutional justification” for such urgency. Until the appeal is determined, he argued, the High Court decision remains provisional and cannot trigger a by-election.
He warned that proceeding prematurely risks eroding institutional legitimacy, provoking needless litigation and creating confusion at the national level. While delays may be inconvenient, he said, they are far less damaging than a constitutional crisis.
“When the law has designed a safe, orderly pathway, rushing to cut corners is not efficiency—it is recklessness,” he cautioned. “Our institutions must resist the temptation to ‘do corner fast’ at the expense of the Constitution.”
