The Director of Communication for the United Party, Solomon Owusu, has called for the prosecution of returning officers who engage in electoral irregularities, arguing that such actions cause financial loss to the state.

Speaking on TV3's NewDay and monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, he said it is high time these officials are prosecuted for their errors.

“We must begin prosecuting returning officers for causing financial loss to the state, as the country continues to spend public funds organising reruns. Unless and until the returning officers who manipulate data are prosecuted, we are likely to see these things happen again. That will be the only solution," he remarked.

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According to him, voters go to the polls with the expectation that their choices will be respected and protected.

“People choose to vote for particular candidates because they want to be represented. When that process is compromised and officials walk free, it undermines democracy,” he added.

Solomon Owusu further warned that shifting the cost of electoral wrongdoing onto the state through reruns only punishes taxpayers, rather than offenders.

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Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered the Electoral Commission to suspend all arrangements for the rerun of the parliamentary election in Kpandai, pending the determination of an application challenging the court’s judgement.

Background

The High Court in Tamale in November 2025 annulled the 2024 parliamentary election results for the Kpandai Constituency and ordered a rerun of the entire election following a petition by the 2024 National Democratics Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, Daniel Nsala Wakpal, challenging the outcome of election.

Prior to that, the seat was occupied by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2024 parliamentary candidate, Matthew Nyindam.

In the judgment, the court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Brew Plange, held that the election was flawed with widespread irregularities and, therefore, ordered a rerun of the election within 30 days.

JKB/AE

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