The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has disclosed why the party did not pull out of the Akwatia by-election.
According to Asiedu Nketia, the NDC didn’t pull out of the Akwatia by-election because we wanted to expose the Electoral Commission and the NPP.
Asideu Nketia alleged that the Electoral Commission and the NPP rigged the 2024 elections in Akwatia for the NPP candidate, the late Ernest Kumi.
The NDC Chairman is quoted by GHOne TV to have said, “NDC didn’t pull out from the Akwatia by-election because we wanted to expose the Electoral Commission and NPP for rigging the 2024 elections in favour of the NPP candidate”.
The late Ernest Kumi secured the Akwatia seat for the NPP in a closely contested election marked by allegations of vote buying and irregularities at some polling stations, with his victory ending up in court.
The lawmaker’s death came just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned his contempt conviction related to the disputed 2024 parliamentary election results.
Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the minority leader called the National Democratic Congress (NDC) shameless for contesting in the Akwatia by-election.
The minority leader confidently stated that the NDC as a party has no shame; if they did, they would not contest the Akwatia by-election after the NPP decided not to contest the Tamale Central by-election because of the tragic demise of the MP in a helicopter crash.
Afenyo-Markin urged NPP supporters not to be intimidated and to stand firm, even if their opponents come with guns during the by-election.
Speaking at the 40-day observation of the late Akwatia Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Ernest Yaw Kumi, Afenyo-Markin stated, “If the NDC brings guns, face them squarely with confidence and prayers.”
“Do not let anyone instil fear in you. The things going on in parliament are painful. Go out in your numbers and vote.
The NDC has no shame as a party. If the NDC had shame when we (NPP) decided not to contest the Tamale Central by-election, they should have done the same at Akwatia”, he added.
Meanwhile, Bernard Bediako Baidoo of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) was confirmed the winner of the Akwatia by-election by the Electoral Commission.
The NDC candidate delivered a crucial victory for the Mahama-led government in a tight, contested election.
The Electoral Commission’s certified results, the NDC’s Bernard Bediako Baidoo secured 18,199 votes of the total valid votes cast, with the NPP’s Kwame Asumadu garnering 15,235 votes.
The Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Owusu Patrick, trailed far behind with 82 votes.
In all, 33,819 total ballots were cast, while 303 were rejected.
Additionally, Mussa Dankwa, the Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, has revealed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), before the Akwatia by-election, reached out for their data on Akwatia.
According to Mussa Dankwa, the NDC used their data to flip 5 areas in Akwatia where the NPP was leading.
Speaking to Kafui Day in an exclusive interview shared on social media, Mussa Dankwa detailed, “NDC did in the last before the election, they wanted to see the entire election by electoral area, which areas they have lost. This is when we did the last poll, which came on Friday. Somebody reached out to me on Saturday because we had published only ten electoral areas, and they wanted the entire thing.
We gave it to them free of charge; we didn’t charge them because that was just public data we wanted to share”.
He added, “So they knew where the NPP was leading, and where they were leading and even places where people were undecided. NDC came for the date and went to the areas where they were undecided. NPP was leading with 12, NDC was leading in 9 in the final poll.
Mussa Dankwa further revealed that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s visit to Kusi did not help the NPP, as they were already losing the area.
“When the election was done, the NDC had gone to flip 5 of the 12 that the NPP was holding, using the data. Remember, Bawumia went to Kusi, which was an NPP area, but his visit didn’t help; they lost Kusi”, he added.
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