President Akufo-Addo has expressed confidence that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will reclaim the Assin North parliamentary seat in future.
Though he did not give time lines, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the window of opportunity for the party to face off with its opponent again would be in December 2024.
In a congratulatory message to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) issued on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, President Akufo-Addo urged members of the Elephant Family to “keep their heads up,” as they lived to fight another day.
“I urge members of my party, the New Patriotic Party, to keep their heads up, recognizing that, in a democracy, there are winners and losers and that we live to fight another day. We once held the Assin North seat, and I am confident that, sooner rather than later, Assin North will be blue again,” he wrote.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated the NDC, the Electoral Commission, the security services, and the media for their respective roles in the Assin North Constituency by-election.
According to him, Ghana’s democratic credentials were strengthened even further “following the conduct of peaceful and credible elections in the Assin North by-election.”
DEMOCRACY
Later in the day, the ruling NPP sent words of congratulations to the Assin North MP-elect and their opponent, the NDC, for retaining the seat.
Signed by the General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, the statement said that the NDC’s victory added to Ghana’s democratic credentials.
“Indeed, the recent two by-elections have demonstrated the strength of the country’s democracy, with outcomes favoring different political parties. This is a testament to Ghana’s much touted accolade as a bastion of peace and stable democracy on the African continent,” the release added.
ASSIN NORTH
The Assin North by-election appears to be a case study for the two main political parties, as none of them owned the constituency. Since its creation, the constituency has been a swing one like many, if not all, of the seats in the Central Region.
It has been on this basis that political analysts have argued that winning majority seats and the presidential elections in the Central Region, plus a few from Greater Accra, puts that party on the verge of securing the presidency.
An allegation of vote buying was made by both parties ahead of the polls, coupled with alleged impromptu road construction by the government to woo the votes of the constituents.
Though the NPP debunked the allegation of impromptu projects, saying the government had developed the constituency better, the NDC claimed that all major developments in the constituency had been done by them.
Further, the politics of whether James Gyakye Quayson was dealt with unjustly, according to analysts, was the triumph card of the NDC to court the sympathy of the voters.
The previously ejected Member of Parliament (MP), now the Assin North MP-elect, James Gyakye Quayson, retained the seat with 17,245 votes, representing 57.56%. The NPP’s Charles Opoku had 12,630 votes, or 42.15%, and the Liberal Party of Ghana’s (LPG) Bernice Enam Sefanu garnered 87 votes, or 0.29%.
At the end of the collation, the NDC appreciated in their 2020 votes while the NPP depreciated, but the latter had changed the 2020 candidate.
REFLECTION
The NPP indicated that it respects the “decision and judgment of the people” of the constituency, though they had diligently worked towards reclaiming the Assin North parliamentary seat.
The statement reiterated the party’s unwavering commitment to collaborating with other political parties, key electoral stakeholders, and the people of Ghana to further enhance the practice of democracy in the country.
It said the party viewed the outcome of the by-election as a “wake-up call, prompting us to evaluate our approach, make rational retrospective assessments, and conduct thorough analysis.”
Meanwhile, the party urged its supporters to submit their comments and recommendations to the national secretariat of the party for consideration and possible implementation.
However, the party expressed resentment over the conduct of some personnel of the Ghana Police Service deployed to man the elections.
Regardless, the statement commended the security services for their joint efforts during and after the elections, the EC for ensuring a successful election, and journalists for their work.
The Member of Parliament-elect, James Gyakye Quayson, will be sworn in today as the representative of the people of the Assin North constituency. Also, his criminal trial will continue today.
