Kpandai Election Re-run: Only the Final EC Gazette Matters — Dafeamekpor Rejects Late Filing Claims

Majority Chief Whip and South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, has pushed back against claims that the petition challenging the 2024 parliamentary results in the Kpandai constituency was filed out of time.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, December 2, he said the legal debate over timelines has already been settled by one key principle — only the Electoral Commission’s final consolidated Gazette has legal standing.

According to Dafeamekpor, arguments based on earlier administrative Gazette notifications are invalid because the law recognizes only the final EC Gazette as the authoritative document for computing petition timelines.

“We were watching time… our maths is not that bad,” he remarked. “Once the correct Gazette is applied, the filing falls within the legal window.”

Final Gazette Issued on January 24

He explained that the EC’s comprehensive Gazette, released on January 24, covered all 276 constituencies, including those whose results were still being finalized earlier.

“They could not have released a comprehensive Gazette containing all the seats before that date,” he noted. “This was the notification covering all seats in Parliament.”

Dafeamekpor revealed that although opponents submitted a December 24 Gazette as evidence, the court rejected it.

“The Court rejected it,” he said. “The EC testified that the January 24 Gazette is their final notification.”

Number of Earlier Gazettes Irrelevant

When pressed on how many Gazettes were issued before the final one, the private legal practitioner said the number was immaterial.

“Even if the EC released several Gazette notifications, the last in time takes precedence over all previous ones. That is trite. That is law.”

He emphasized that both the petitioners and the court relied solely on the final Gazette — making any claims of late filing legally unfounded.